


AmouReux de Rosé

by Cheeky_Cheelai



Category: Dragon Ball
Genre: Emotional Hurt/Comfort, F/M, Goku Black is NOT immortal, Heavily centered around Manga Timeline, I Can't Believe I Wrote This, I Will Go Down With This Ship, Love, Psychological Manipulation, Slice of Life, Y'all are in my territory now, always expect the unexpected, emotional drama, screw power levels
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-12-14
Updated: 2019-08-14
Packaged: 2019-09-05 17:06:56
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 6
Words: 24,676
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16814869
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Cheeky_Cheelai/pseuds/Cheeky_Cheelai
Summary: {A tribute to the Dragon Ball Super: Broly movie's theatrical release on January 16, 2019}An unlikely paiR.A pReposteRous one, to be honest.What dRives a ceRtain biotechnological woman (besides stuffing heRself with sweets) is peace and quiet, as well as tReating the injuRed and bRoken.AnotheR individual, on the otheR hand, delights in the destRuction of mankind and making them suffeR foR what they've done to theiR own planet.HeRe, the daRk messiah himself digResses and Releases his pRey fRom his clutches. Will this sudden change of events thRow the balance foR a loop?(This story takes place between the Zero-Mortals arc and Tournament Of Power arc of the Dragon Ball Super MANGA specifically, moments after the story mode events in the Dragon Ball FighterZ 2D fighting game. [Note that the anime and the manga of Super are two completely separate canons in the Dragon Ball franchise.] However, this fanfic uses very very specific elements from the show that the manga does not contain to further the plot and development intended for the fanfic)





	1. Revitalization

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry I haven't been active on the archive. I've been busy idealizing and working on this since the beginning of this month. Strange, I know. Please enjoy!

A humanoid figure lay unconscious on the empty soil. He wasn't moving. He wasn't sleeping or breathing. Even his subconscious was barely active. Yet, he wasn't dead. And he could still dream.

Inside his weakened mind, he was traveling through an intensively dark room. There were no exits and there wasn't a single living organism or inanimate object around. Suddenly, a flash of light exploded out of nowhere, temporarily blinding the man. When his eyes adjusted to the new environment that now surrounded him, he could see a large bundle of people silhouetted by the Sun. No, it wasn't the Sun...

They were gathered around a ginormous ball of spiritual energy, each of them wrapped in a timid aura. "You won't... EVER STOP ME," someone shrieked with determination. Somewhere beneath the giant orb, a curious individual was struggling to lift it. "Damn it," another person breathed. The voice was slightly fuzzy, but it was certainly familiar. It also seemed to be coming from above. The man tilted his head upward.

There, hovering midair, was another man with ridiculously spikey black hair wearing an orange and blue gi (fighting uniform). "I need more power," he screamed. Where did the man hear that voice?

He noticed one of the group's members gazing sadly at their companions. "Thank you," it said. The vocals spoke nothing but dissatisfaction and heartbreak. Subsequently, it also carried acceptance, as if they have finally achieved their lifetime goal. "And goodbye." Then, as quick as a flash, the silhouette rushed in after the receiver right as the giant ball crashed into the earth. Unfortunately, the wanderer couldn't catch a glimpse of their face.

"#21!! NO!!"

* * *

That scream of sadness and shock caused the man's motionless fingers to twitch seconds before his eyes opened wide with an awful fright. He jumped up and immediately distanced himself from where his body lay, stopping at five yards to get into his fighting stance. He calmed down after a few deep breaths and a quick 360 observation. Cold sweat was teasing his eyebrows. What... happened?

Why did he wake up feeling like this? Wait, where even was he? The figure just stood there sweating, still cautiously in his stance. Trees and bushes were the only things visible. He straightened out and looked at his hands, then his black and red Gi. How did he get here, anyway?

He thought long and hard about it. He squeezed his nose between his index finger and his thumb. Another unexpected migraine interfered with his thinking. The gripped his head tightly with both hands, grunting and growling in pain. His head only ached more as he proceeded to recollect. He needed more information.

That was the precise moment in which the answer to most of his questions smacked him squarely and the memories flooded back into his mind.

He, angered by eons of chaos and disrespect, was fighting for the sake of his utopian ideals. He found himself loving the adrenaline gained from exchanging deadly blows at light speed. The rush of anticipation and the satisfying feeling of success poised him to keep going. His partner, on the other hand, didn't quite share his ambitions for destructive combat, as he was more focused on his ultimate goal.

Then, just as he and his partner were about to land to final strike, their line of sight was sliced into two and, to add insult to injury, they cheated to steal victory. They convinced the Omniaversal Leader to completely erase them! But... if that was the case, how was he here? How could he even exist after an encounter like that?

His name was Zamasu. Though, he was not exactly in the form of Zamasu. In fact, he took the form of a completely different person, hence his new name: Goku Black, which was given to him by that tinkering twit of a woman. An irritably strange name for a seeker of justice, but it seemed fitting at the time. Differences were important. So, he just rolled with it. Still...

How that name infuriated him, no matter who said it. It sorely reminded him how mortals could even dream of reaching a level beyond the Kais (Lords). And, eventually, even the other Gods. What angered him more was the fact that only a group of lowly mortals actually had the audacity to interrupt "Project: Zero Mortals".

To be fair, it is only natural for the brain of a bruiser to never comprehend his words of purity. Through his eyes, Saiyans were nothing more than incarcerations of pure chaos; barbaric, yet pathetic mortals who will never learn their place. It almost sounded poetic. His anger only increased along with the anguish of his splitting headache. He felt a tsunami of humiliation wash over him relentlessly.

How is it that he lost to a barrel of barbarians? Even though he perfected the body of the strongest living organism he knew and strengthened its already unyielding might... why? Why was he unable to establish his dreams? Why is it that beings far and wide turn down opportunities for justice to be served rather than embrace them with open arms? Easy. Corruption. That's why.

Corruption creeped everywhere Zamasu looked. Corruption was one of the many things that sparked the rogue Kai's ideology; to eradicate all mortal life and replace it with a landscape of prosperity, serenity, and peace. A utopian fabric of the universe which the innocent would never have to leave! It would've been a glorious golden age.

"Imbeciles," he shouted uncontrollably. He couldn't help himself. His dreams of absolution were completely tarnished, thrown to the wayside. His antagonized aura spilled in every direction, shaping and shifting throughout the entirety of the forest. Animals everywhere began to flee from the calamity that was bound to happen. Until...

 _Are you alright_ , a voice asked through the white hot rage, pausing Black's release of anger.

He suppressed his Ki (energy) and settled himself down again. What was that? It might be an enemy hunting him down. Damn. This is what he gets for ironically letting his temper overtake him.

_Please, answer me!_

Could it be... a human? In a place like this? Most unlikely. Besides, the tone was too high pitched. He couldn't tell whether it was a young male or a teenage female. Black looked around.

_Uh, behind you._

"What the--!?"

Black whipped around and a sudden death beam whizzed through the air, disintegrating everything in its path, leaving behind a long road of flaming death and destruction. Trees were either knocked over, blown away, or reduced to ashes and while the charred, lifeless bodies of mammals replaced the soft green grass. Damn, he missed.

There was nothing else to be seen. Nothing unique. Was he going crazy out of fear? No, fear is only for mortals alone to experience. He regained his composure and raised his voice. "Who's there," he demanded. The enigmatic being squeaked shockingly. _H-Hey! Wait!_ Black was growing exponentially impatient by the second. He called out a second time, but with more aggressiveness. "I said, 'Who's. There'," he boomed. "If you do not reveal yourself--!"

 _In front of you, sir. Look lower._ The demigod saw a flicker of light under his nose. He looked down to see who had the will to pester him, ready to let loose on the squirrelly bastard.

What he was far from a human. Instead, he found a ball of energy floating in front of him. A soul? Really? Strange. He knew he wasn't the only one around. How come he couldn't sense it, though? Perhaps it was capable of hiding its own essence as well. Whatever. This time, he was prepared to reduce it to grains of stardust. _P-Please! Don't shoot! I need to tell you something_ , exclaimed the gentle soul.

The half-Saiyan scoffed at its feebleness. Even now, mortal voices continued to reverberate in his ears. It was so frustrating. All the noise, noise, noise produced by the ungodly, inconsiderate citizens of the universe drove him nearly insane. The soul flickered as it spoke up. _Please, heed my words._ The voice whimpered at his frightening demeanor.

"Well, I am not halting your speech," Black refuted. "So, speak up! It is impolite to leave your God waiting." The ball of light did as it was told. _Well, you may be curious as to where you are._ Which was true. The hybrid needed to know what happened to him. Was he dead? Was this his Heaven and/or Hell?

_Um... I... See--_

Ugh, there were over a hundred things Black could list in his pumping head that seemed far more entertaining than hearing a weakling stutter.

_I-I think it would be best if I just show you._

Finally, it suggested something smart. The ball of light hovered around the ring on Black's index finger of his right hand. "What are you doing? Don't touch! This ring is only meant for divine beings like myself to utilize."

 _This is a Time Ring if I'm not mistaken,_ the soul amused. "That is none of your concern! How do you even know about them?"

The soul sparked again as it backed away, scared for its own safety. Still, it had an important mission to complete. The message it carried must be forwarded no matter the cost. But first, some deductive reasoning to convince the demigod to lend an ear.

_My apologies, sir! I only wish to show you the answers to your questions. If you could please let me--_

"No," shouted the aggravated madman. "I will not allow my inventory to be abused by a spec!" The tedious orb only continued to beg. For the love of Kami (God), did he have to spell it out for this thing? Only he was worthy of using objects crafted by the deities. He may have chosen a mortal body as his vessel, but he still had unrivaled strength. Even the Destroyers could hardly compare. If this cretin recognized his Time Ring, why didn't it know anything about its user? 

No matter. He has had enough of people lazily begging each other to do things they could easily do themselves. A sigh could be heard from the little punk. It didn't want to cause any trouble, but it knew what was at stake. _Darn it. Looks like things need to be done the hard way._ Yeah, that didn't sound suspicious at all. The soul gathered its courage and shot forward before Black could do anything.

"What are you-- GUUUGH!!" The flickering energy shrank its mass and plunged itself into Black's chest, knocking him off his feet and catapulting him backwards. _Sorry!_ The hybrid's vision grew blurry. Jesus, ow. For a small fry, this thing really 'packed a punch' as the humans say. In a moment's time, everything went completely dark. Pitch black. And he forcefully slumbered once more.

Crap-baskets.

* * *

All was quiet in Black's head. Again, he was lying flat and knocked out cold, practically kissing the dirt this time. For a few moments, that is. He found himself wandering through the corridors of his mind. All he could see was darkness. Hang on... hasn't he been here before? Oh, please no.

He searched for a way out, hoping to escape this reoccurring nightmare. Was he going to wake up to hear that exasperating pipsqueak squirm forever now? And what was with that vision he had earlier? Regardless, he was certain he was dead now, resting in Hell for all eternity. What has the universe come to?

Just then, the familiar flash forced Black to shield his eyes with his hands. Was it really the same meaningless dream I've and over? Was he truly bound to Hell's quarters?

He woke up to see nothing but darkness for the second time. This must be his punishment for his so called "crimes". No, something was off. It looked different too. The hybrid stood back up.

When the scenery brightened, all Black could see was a dark world. Ruined remnants of a city. Buildings were toppled over, fire singed all of the planted trees, and vehicles were either flipped, sliced in half, or blown to dust. Black recognized this setting. He was back in the future!

** AGE 796 **

This made no sense! He never recalled using his Time Ring as of late. Wait, was that brat responsibile for this? Breaking the Gods' strictest taboo by time-traveling was an inexcusable crime on its own. But using a God's body to do so? Oh, that son-of-a-bitch soul was so dead to him. "Where are you, you insufferable wretch!?"

He tried to take a step forward. It didn't move. He tried again with more strength put into his step. Nope. It wouldn't budge. Okay, now he wanted some answers. Like, RIGHT NOW. What did that thing do to him?

He tried moving his left arm. Nothing! Instead, his right arm raised up whilst flexing the fingers of his hand. He could see the Time Ring glistening as his wrist turned over a few times. Tch. He was possessed. He was able to see everything clearly and colorfully, but he could not move any part of his body. Not on his own.

How ironic. He claimed a mortal's body, and now a ghost claimed him. Like a... what were those things called again? A turducken? Sheesh, humans were vicious. Thankfully, he extinguished them all in this timeline.

He felt his head hurt again. Much more painful than before, too. He heard a voice loud and clear. It was almost is if it was right next to him. Or rather _inside_ him. What **wonderful** fortune.

 _Hello_ , the voice called. Black figured he should get used to hearing a mortal running its mouth like a record. "I demand an answer, you rotten thief! Why have I miraculously spawned here of all places?"

_You're one to talk._

"What did you just say!?"

_Look, I need to show you something important. Something that may or may not help you understand everything up to this point._

"How... DARE you! You did not have such an uncouth tone back in the forest."

_That's because I never knew what kind of person you are until now._

"What nonsense are you speaking of?"

_I've looked into the records of that Time Ring of yours._

_Being what I am,_ _I'm capable of amplifying any of a body's abilities, including its perks. Though, this means I must take full possession of the host, which is why I knocked you out. Stubborn lunatic._

_You're nothing but a genocidal maniac._

Damn. Even a mere spec was capable of breaking inhibitions that Kais couldn't. Either that, or the old man had been lying to him about the rings all this time.

Black sighed and confessed his actions. "Still, what is your point," he refuted. "Of course I shall assassinate the lesser beings who infect this beautiful world."

"For my position on the totem pole towers above all."

"All beings! The whole universe!"

"Thus, it is my solemn duty to ensure peace in this bleeding ecosystem!"

Many citizens claimed that he was overly self-absorbed. Damn hypocritical beasts.

Suddenly, a deafening explosion sent a tremendous shockwave through the air. The soul turned Black's body around to see an intimidating pillar of light erupt from beyond the tarnished skyscrapers. Black could feel this force from miles away. In fact, the signature seemed extraordinarily familiar.

Could I be...? Yes, it would only make sense. This aura was his very own! This was the radiance of two bodies merged together into one!

FUSED Zamasu!

"This is..." He couldn't quite finish his sentence. His amazement distracted him. He was invested in the resulting product's sheer elegance. That form was the pinnacle of their evolutionary road. The embodiment of justice! Of absolution, judgement, and holiness!

The soul continued its presentation of the situation. _Ah, right on time._ It was expecting this to happen near them.

Black saw this as an opportunity to change fate. He put all of his mental strength into moving his body. Still nothing. _Oh, no you don't_ , scolded the spirit. _Not when the show's about to start._ Of course. With the information that soul carries, there was no conceivable way it would let him "run wild".

But, sitting and watching sounded so utterly tiresome. He needed to satiate his hunger for fighting. Just because the body had a different brain doesn't mean it had different tastes. He had already discussed this with the other Zamasu way back when.

So, he went from becoming the incarnation of pure supremacy to being stranded in the middle of a forest talking to an individual with no physical composition and mortified further by that same spec of sunlight. What a way to go to Hell.

_Don't worry. Everything you see now is not real. It's all just a playback of what already happened; an illusion, if you will._

_I shall be in your subconscious as the fight goes on. If you need me, you'll know where I'll be._

Joy.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yep... we're doing this. Now, there's no particular update schedule for this one. Whenever I get the chance, I'll upload a chapter. This'll be a shitshow for most of you, but it'll be a decent shitshow. Trust me, I have my reasons for making this happen. Negativity aside, I hope you all have a great day!


	2. Recollection

"Revere me... Give praise to me..."

"Me, the noble and beautiful."

"Me, the immortal, the master of all, the only God with perfection itself at his side."

"All. Hail. Zamasu!"

The ultimate, supreme God hovered gracefully above the primitive party that stood beneath his radiance. His robes glistened a reflective dark grey with sharp red lines at every edge of the fabric. A black Gi was worn beneath it all, as well. His elegant silver hair spiked like thorns and waved like the wind as his platinum aura smoothly emitted from him.

"Two powers merged together in this one body," he chuckled, lifting his arms and staring up at the sky tainted by smog and combat dust. "This form is rapture. It is as pure as my intention." The hopeful deity descended from his aerial position to land softer than a feather on his feet. Black, unable to move on his own, could only watch with satisfaction as his fusion with the immortal Kai of the Tenth Universe, Zamasu, shined like a diamond in a jewelry shop.

He spectated the stunning display of teamwork from a distance atop a collapsed skyscraper whilst his Ki was suppressed. Though, it wasn't exactly his choice.

"No, it is more than just that," the deity proclaimed. He continued to gloat his superiority.

"This vessel is an example of what signifies the difference between Gods and mortal beings."

"This form of mine is justice incarnate!"

"My form is the world you walk."

"My presence is the universal order, the universal law, and yes, even the universal power!"

Black shivered at his words. No truer words could be said. Zamasu and Goku Black in this new fused form; such a climactic combination! The heathens who repelled their ideals should have kneeled instantly before their splendor, begging for forgiveness. Black gave the rebellious Saiyans lying in the dirt a cold stare of anger. They continued to persist with their refutation. Pitiful. Pathetic. It agitated him like a common cold.

"All evil doers who foolishly touch my guiding light shall be eviscerated."

Black watched the one-sided fight between the mortals and... _themselves_ , perhaps? Either way, there was no need for him to intervene at this point. He accepted being stuck for now. Zamasu, in this radiant state, had everything he could ever wish for at his disposal; blades, lighting, holiness, you name it. Of course, that was to be expected from a deity whose power and mind were enriched with pure intentions.

But, why was he even here? In fact, why didn't he ask the lightbulb in the first place? Oh, that's right. It's because the damn thing aggravated him to no end as all mortal individuals did. Regardless, he needed answers for this farce. "Tch. I'm bound to regret this," he muttered. He closed his eyes and dived deep into the empty void that was his subconscious. 

The next he knew, he was standing before the little ball of trouble responsible for this upstart. Everything was dark around them, with the only source of light being the soul who possessed him. "All right, what reason do you have for dragging me here if all I see is the same plot as before," he asked with a raspy, irritated voice. The spark merely sighed and circled him.

 _Haven't you noticed anything different_ , the soul queried. It hovered around Black's head like a mosquito. _To be fair, you knocked yourself out surprisingly hard. So, it's normal for your memory to be a tad bit fuzzy_. This was already Hell and he hasn't even reach the top of the barrel yet. However, he had to admit, something did feel rather off about his ear. The left one, to be precise.

He felt around and gasped. "What... the hell...!?" His Potara earring was gone! How? Where was it? Did he drop it when was knocked out? _Allow me to show you, since you're so stubborn and only enjoy hearing yourself blabbering_. The soul manipulated Black's body to activate the Time Ring and fast-forward to the point it was trying to emphasize.

"And _this_... is... "

"The perfected version... of SUPER SAIYAN BLUE!!"

"Hmph. Your arsenal of hair colors is nothing to the might of justice!"

Along the way, Black noticed something rather interesting. There were more Zamasus than before. Each of them in their merged form. It would seem that he had utilized that cloning trick after some... complications they've had. _Whoops, hang on._ Another fast forward took place. _There we go._

 _Now, watch this_ , the soul implied. Minutes later, a familiar figure levitated in the sky. He was very short and had violet skin with a blue line traveling up and down the middle of his face and hairless head. He wore purple/white robes above a yellow suit. The figure saw the group of survivors and spoke to them in a childishly high-pitched voice. Shit, it's him.

Black knew who this being was. It was Lord Zeno: The King of the Omniverse! Being blessed with the ability to **_completely erase_** anyone and anything he deemed fit with a simple raise of hand can get you really far in life. He wasn't a tyrannical ruler, unlike a certain humanoid lizard that was mentioned in many old stories. He was just stupendously innocent. Innocent to an immeasurable level.

The moment he appeared, every one of the expressions of the Zamasu mirages were taken over by terror and... eugh, **fear**. Pathetic. He himself was pathetic.

The soul commanded Black's body to utilize the Time Ring again, grounding time itself to a halt. Even Zeno stood motionless in midair. Impressive. Must have really been dabbling a lot with that thing while Black was out. Boy, this runt was asking for it.

 _And that right there is why you don't have a halo hovering above your head._ What was he talking about now? Black looked to see nothing above his head. "Oh, spare me your jokes--" The sudden realization changed his mood entirely. _Yep, you're not in Hell at all_ , the spirit announced. _You and your partner were erased by Lord Zeno himself._

_Before your bodies were erased, however, your earrings were the first to go. The fused form between you two ripped his right earring off, causing the fusion to split permanently. The moment you separated from each other, you saw this as your chance to escape._

Black observed the armada of fusions. None of them looked like they were going to do anything. But, there was one who stood out among the rest. Yes, four-hundred and... third to the right. That must be the real one. Zamasu had his right hand gripping their emerald green Potara earrings on the right sides of their heads.

_In that split second, you used your ring without even thinking. Quite timidly, I might add. And you did so just in time. But, because the transportation from point-A to point-B drained your remaining strength, it knocked you out cold as you appeared in midair and crash landed head first in that forest. The collision with the ground is what broke your earring after all the turbulence it endured._

_The reason why this happened is because you weren't focused on anything. Only on survival and nothing more._

_Not only that, your ki was completely diminished from the fusion, which means nobody knew that you were still alive._ _You're even luckier that you winded up there instead of some remote area in space. Because you had no idea of where the ring would take you while you were shouting "TEN!! TEN!!" repeatedly, it was basically a dice roll of life and death._

_Truthfully, I never knew any of this about you until I peeked into that ring. The records it carries don't lie._

Hmm... It was an amount to take in, but it made a small bit of sense. This ring on his right index finger, the one he took for himself from his sensei, was the reason he survived Zeno's trick. It saved him before. Black still grumbled. This punk had some nerve mentioning that secretive and untrustworthy old fart.

But, the hybrid only laughed as he had something richer on his mind. "Ohohoho! 'Timidly' you say? You certainly are a natural with humor for something so simplistic."

"You see, beings of the divine know no such thing."

"Zamasu and I are no exceptions. Immortality and Power are the ultimate tag-team."

"Not to mention, we were both equally calm and cunning as all Gods should be."

"Also, you haven't answered my question about why you dragged me out here. You have only explained to me how I still exist."

 _You're right,_ the soul sighed. It almost forgot about it's primary objective. _I guess I should get down to business_ _._

 _I... need your help._ The spirit activated the ring one last time. _Brace yourself this time._ "Very well," Black moaned as he closed his eyes. He knew how Time Rings work. They could really rattle your skeleton if you're not careful.

_Behold._

* * *

** AGE 779**

Black opened his eyes again and looked around to see himself in another alternate environment. This world had a crystal clear sky as trees swayed from side to side. The wind blew gently against Black's face, his hair fluttering butterfly-style. This felt nice. It really did. Why was he here, though? This was the Supreme Kai's World, an isolated planet east of the Milky Way galaxy where the "Lord of Lords" from this universe observed mortal life as a guardian.

"Is this another illusion of yours?"

_I'll have you know that this place is very real. I take it that you're already aware of this place._

"Yes. We are on the East Supreme Kai's planet. If I recollect, his name was 'Shin', lone survivor of Majin Buu's onslaught against the original Four Supreme Kais of Universe 7 around Earth's Dinosaur Age."

_Wow. You are quite the historian._

"Well, it is a gift."

Suddenly, something was encouraged him to be cautious. He couldn't sense anything, but he still anticipated that something rather interesting was bound to occur. Then, a demented, yet faint scream of anger and malice rippled through the air itself. "You won't... EVER STOP ME!!" Where did that come from? Someone was certainly having a rough day. "Did you hear that," asked the hybrid.

 _I_ _**felt**_ _that_ , the spark replied. _Hold on. I need a moment to focus._ That voice... so familiar. Black thought for a second. Wait a damn minute...

He realized what it was. That was the same voice he heard in that odd dream. What was that person's name? _There!_ _Let's_ _go!_ Whoa. How come this thing could locate the source? Before he knew it, Black was rushing to the scene. "What do you think you are doing?" He still had so many questions. The soul just huffed and increased speed.

 _It's about a friend..._ This left a puzzled expression on Black's face. "Who is this 'friend' of yours? What is their name?"

_She doesn't have a name, but a number instead._

_Android #21._

She? Android? Probably talking about those half-human, half-machine creations that were originally designed on Planet Earth. Curiouser and curiouser. A spark of light befriending an object without personality was odd by itself. It was also intriguing how a robot could be sexually identified. "Hmm," Black pondered. He had to admit that, for a lower class, mortals sure knew how to make use of their surroundings. However, "Why do you need a God's help with a man-made pile of scrap metal?"

_Because you're a perfect fit._

Black's face was as blank as a white board after a grade school day. "You are really starting push his buttons with these irrelevant mysteries."

_Please. I solemnly swear I won't disturb you again._

Alright. Perhaps he would play along with this lightbulb's impudent plans. Just for a little bit longer. Though he was skeptical about this scenario, he couldn't help but look into it. No harm in participating in a seek-and-destroy mission.

"Fine. Take me to this 'Android #21' you speak of."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wow. You guys seem to have some sort of interest in this, I guess. Well, now I know that I need to pour my body, mind, heart, soul, AND time into this work. In fact, that's my New Years resolution; make a fanfic that we're all satisfied with including myself, starting with the next chapter because this one wasn't my best. I believe I can be better, though.


	3. RestoRation

A question drifted aimlessly inside the hybrid's mind as the pair traversed the skies in search of their target. He decided to ask just to push it aside.

"Pray tell, what exactly makes your ally so unique?" The sprite paused before answering.

 _She's... well, an android. To be more accurate, she's a cyborg of sorts. However_ , _there was a flaw in her design, which wasn't noticed until her programming was complete years ago._

_Why are you smirking?_

"My apologies. I just find it amusing."

_Hey, don't be like that._

A biotechnological woman having a typical malfunction? Seriously? What a waste. Black didn't want to laugh because he was above such immaturity. On the other hand, he couldn't stop himself from at least grinning with mockery. 

The hybrid was still rather annoyed by the fact that he had to do a mortal's job. He wasn't even 10% sure if the lightbulb would really keep its word. Truth be told, he was very skeptical about this whole thing from the start. But, the hype for a delightful battle got the best of him. Not that he could bend these sorts of urges to his will. He was part Saiyan after all.

"It isn't my fault she's--"

**"What the hell are you doing!?"**

**"GET OUT OF MY WAY!!"**

"We're going to disappear together!"

"#21!! NO!!"

A bundle of reminiscent shouting was heard and a gargantuan explosion of blue and white soon followed, interrupting the conversation. The sheer force of it sent Black cartwheeling backwards. A battle was probably happening where the soul had pinpointed Android #21. Black regained his balance. "What was that," he exclaimed with shock.

_That was Goku's Spirit Bomb! It's a huge sphere of energy created by gathering energy from organisms across the universe._

"He is truly able to perform that technique?" Black heard stories about it eons ago. Never in his life did he witness its power in person, nor did he know that a mortal could wield such capabilities. Hold on, did this mean that Goku was the one who tossed that attack in his dream? Though it was a different variation, the energy was also familiar in many other ways. Come to think of it--

_Keep going! We're almost there!_

Bah! Black didn't appreciate the sparkle's demands. He carried on, but not before responding, "Do not give orders to a God, young one." The host and his pint-sized acquaintance continued their flight. But, something caught them by surprise. As they journeyed on, Black felt an odd tingle in his chest; it wasn't from the aforementioned sword. Suddenly, his vision darkened and his body slowed. The spirit could sense this disturbance as well.

Black began to feel weaker. The illness gradually grew worse as they got closer towards the coordinates. "W-What... the..." The hybrid was getting more and more tired as time passed. What was this nonsense? Could it be someone's magic? Maybe it was the Supreme Kai's work. No, he's not that perceptive. Was the Spirit Bomb's might slowly intimidating him? Out of the question. Gods never fear anything.

Just how? How was Black getting weaker? Even his acquaintance was puzzled. It thought for sure that... Never mind. Black continued to search for the cyborg. The air around him began to tense up irregularly. Just who was this 'Android 21'? Was this intensity from her aura? Yet another cluster of riddles flew around Black's head. They didn't show any signs of stopping, either.

As they grew closer and closer, a few other energy signatures were picked up. Two Saiyans, a Namekian, an Earthling, and a Majin? Good lord, he could practically detect a multiracial cocktail down there.

 _Those are the Z-Fighters, in case you're wondering_ , said the sprite. The Z-Fighters? Ah. Black remembered looking them up on GodTube during his research on Goku before his Zero-Mortal Plan ensued. They were a group of misfit fighters from all over Universe 7 who somehow manage to cooperate efficiently.Moments later, the misfits could be seen with the naked eye.

By all that is holy, even the God of Destruction and his attendant were there! They were all gathered around a huge crater. That must be where the Spirit Bomb landed. _Hide._ _There's no need to cause an uprising now._

Black reluctantly agreed as he was having morbid flashbacks of what the Destroyer God has done. He landed silently a few feet away from the gathering. But, before he could find some cover, one of the misfits turned their head in his direction. _Uh-oh..._ That person, with blue baggy pants, brown leather shoes, shoulder length black and blue top, and brass bracelets and anklets, was none other than Lord Beerus himself!

The purple two-legged sphinx cat's icy glare paralyzingly burrowed into the hybrid's heart. His eyes narrowed as his frown stretched across his cheeks. Black shivered unconsciously. He began to breathe heavily as copious drops of cold sweat ran down his face. He made sure he held his position, though. Black stood up straight as an arrow with a death stare of his own. Even though it was far more pathetic, there was no way he was going to come off as a yellow-bellied swine to anyone. The staring contest continued for a few more grueling seconds until the Destroyer God shut his eyes. He didn't zoom into them or even lift a finger. He just yawned and frowned tiredly. After that, he, his attendant, and the Z-Fighters disappeared. Gone without a trace. Black couldn't even pick up where they were. Obviously, they've departed the premises of the planet itself.

Damn those selfish foodies. Those smug fools have humiliated Zamasu almost as badly as those bastard Saiyans. Black held a unique grudge towards both Beerus and his attendant, even though he only destroyed Zamasu's past self. To be singlehandedly eradicated by an official Destroyer was one of most disrespectful and dishonoring punishment any person could possibly receive, regardless of the time period which it occurred in.

To make matters worse, he was nearly forced to suffer from this fate twice. These mortals and deities made his every hair stand up in anguish. Simply hearing any their names once forced him to cringe. _Are you okay_ , the soul asked. Why was it so difficult to tell whether it was serious or not? "Silence your foolish mouth," the half-Saiyan cursed. "You have no idea what it is like. You have not seen what Lord Beerus is capable of."

 _Wait a moment. Are you s_ _cared of a kittie-cat?_

If this little shit continued to pester Black, he was bound to just lose control and launch it back to wherever it came from. Still, there was no time for that. As soon as this was over, he needed to workshop his plans for humanity ASAP. "Can we please continue your fruitless task," the hybrid pleaded. "The longer we idle around, the higher the chances of someone spotting us!"

_True. Oh, over there! That giant crater where the Spirit Bomb hit the ground! Go, go, go!_

Black rushed over to the spot that was indicated by the sprite. He looked inside the giant hole in the ground and sighed. Nothing. Nothing that actually sticks out in giant holes aside from flying dust. _Keep searching! She's here, somewhere!_ Sheesh, could it be anymore obsessive? What was so special about this crater? Well, Black had to admit: he was a little surprised by its determination.

Then, something felt... off.

 _Look out,_ Black's subconscious shouted. In an instant, he could feel something heavy smash against the center of his spine, catapulting the hybrid towards a nearby mountainside. The soul worked its magic and juiced up Black's reaction, saving them from a few painful scratches. The moment they recovered, Black was trying to adjust to what just happened. Someone attacked him just now!

Black tilted his head up to see a horrendously familiar face. The perpetrator who struck him had black spikey hair and a Gi with an immensely similar color scheme to his own Gi. "Impossible," he gasped.

This person was Goku; the body that Zamasu equipped himself before beginning Project Zero-Mortals.

Or was he?

Black squinted a little. No, Goku would never have a lifeless face like that. He was always so happy-go-lucky and ready to fight. Obviously, this 'Goku' was just an experimental clone; a zombie. "Hmph." He smirked arrogantly. "To think someone could create replicas of the greatest warriors in Universe 7's history."

Another energy signature was picked up on his mental radar, and it wasn't alone. Not at all. Strange. There were two-- no, three... five... ten... twenty-five! They just kept popping up! Soon enough, Black could indicate over forty people and still counting heading towards him. They were mortals, but they all had exceptional strength. "Hehehe," Black giggled with anticipation. Finally, an interesting setting.

In a flash, he was completely surrounded by entire cast of 'The Z-Fighters'. They each had the exact same features as the orginal, minus the brutish faces and grey/red color schemes. "Is this your doing, mortal," the hybrid asked. "You must have been planning to ambush me all along."

"Clever."

_N-No! I never thought these things were still around! I thought the real deals got rid of them all._

"What a shame," Black huffed. "They have obviously failed." The typicality of it all. He took his fighting stance again and charged himself up with Ki for the coming battle. He stretched out his right arm, directing a substantial amount of aura into it. Consequently, a long, yet paper-thin beam of pinkish red light erupted from his hand. Goku Black was officially going to fight once more.

He rocketed towards the clone who hit him before and plunged his furious blade into its chest. The blade was immediately pulled upward, slicing the clone's torso perfectly. Some mechanical pieces shot upward while most were already blowtorched. Mixtures of blood and oil spattered across the plains, with a few droplets landing on Black's face. These things were cyborgs, too? Grr, the fact that they weren't fully organic tarnished the fun in massacring them. The clone's remains were vaporized by Black's ki-blast, nonetheless. _Whoa,_ the spark breathed. Such power, even with his true strength dampened! It seemed he didn't need the spirit's help to balance his energy after all. "All of you against me," Black proposed. "That isn't very fair, is it?"

"Let us fix that."

Black's muscles bulged, energy surging throughout his body. The pupils of his eyes glistened with cyan. His back began to tingle extravagantly and his aura changed from its original dark glow to an angelic, glorious color of sunlight-yellow. A deafening battle cry was heard and, in mere seconds, Black's hair shot straight up with an exquisite golden shine.

Black laughed loudly through gritted teeth. His eyes widened, and so did his sadistic smile. He's been wanting to release his anger for some time. Now was a chance to acknowledge his appetite. "Now then, gentleman," he said. "My apologies, I am not in the best mood for your jokes."

"If you wish to be smote like your blasphemous kin just now--"

Each and every one of the clones who circled him ignored him and took one step forward. They still carried that emotionless expression. "So be it," sighed the hybrid. They were all ready to die. How sad.

"Prepare for _surgery_!"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Man, I LOVE writing scenes like that one. They make me feel so upbeat, I can't lie. Again, I'm an anime binge-watcher, so that's normal. In any case, next chapter's gonna be great! I'm ReAlLy FeElInG iT!


	4. Reckoning

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the wait!  
> Fair Warning: This one's a bit poorly constructed compared to the last three, if you want my opinion. I'll be sure to do better ^^

A young man was wandering among the cool, grassy hillsides. A charming breeze blew easily, fluttering the youngster's mohawk. Trees swayed slowly from side to side around him as his blue and orange robes flapped like a cape. A relieved exhalation of breath joined the current. He enjoyed the peacefulness of his home. He was happy that things returned to normal after the tremendous events that have just recently occurred.

Too bad it wouldn't last forever. An excessively loud and long *BANG* burst through the air, distorting its flow. The sky's color warped into an ominous shade of black and pink as a large beam of energy raced pass the innocent man. "Where in the universe did that come from," he shouted in confusion. Luckily, nothing was hit, but just a few more inches and his head would be toasted!

The young man began to sweat abnormally and his skin tingled. He could tell something was up, and it was as far from good as it could possibly get. He tried to figure out who fired that thing with his Ki-sensory. He gasped with horror before booking it back to his resting place.

After a few minutes of hard running, he finally found his mentor. Good grief, he needed to exercise more. He stopped next to his mentor to bend over and breathe. An old man with purple, wrinkly skin wearing a similar outfit to the younger one's was reading a magazine in front of a crystal ball. The magazine was chalk full of women's products and other... interesting panels.

"S-Sir," he panted, almost petrified by what he just found out. "What is it, Shin," the old man sitting before his grumbled. He was in the middle of his favorite part before the younger individual interrupted him. The young Kai scrabbled to find his words. "G-G-G..."

"Eh?"

"Goku... Black!"

"What are going on about," the old Kai grouched. This had better be good if his student was impeding his free time. "Goku Black," Shin exclaimed. "He's alive! He's here! On the planet!" Silence fell for a few moments before it was lifted back up by uncanny laughter. "Goku Black!?" The old Kai was trying to speak straight, but his giggles wouldn't let him. He calmed himself down before yelling, "Ridiculous," through hard breaths. "Please, sir," the mohawk Kai begged. "You must believe me! It's the truth!" The old man wouldn't listen. Forget this.

Shin used his power to activate the crystal ball in front of them. He wasn't as used to it as the old Kai was, so it was kinda low-quality. An image emerged from the shining sphere. The old man was crying with laughter at this juncture. _What a stupid joke_ , he thought. That is, until he wiped his eyes and saw it for himself. His face said it all. Oh... Oh no...

The younger Kai was right. There it was, the face of a genicidal narcissist with no remorse, surrounded by more Z-Fighter clones? That was even odder. But, that crystal ball never lies when it shows what's currently happening. Not once has it ever been wrong since it was created over a trillion millennia ago. Goku Black was very much alive, alright, and he was here! On the World of the Kai's soil! But how? He could have sworn Lord Zeno erased the sadistic body snatcher. His pupil explained everything to him. No, it's just not possible. It can't be! This situation was no longer a laughing matter.

Thankfully, he was on the other side of the planet. The older Kai's widened eyes and chattering teeth couldn't emphasize his fright more obviously. "WE NEED TO CONTACT KING KAI," he boomed with desperation. "NOW!!" he immediately took control over the glass ball and located their short and stubby apprentice on his home world. He wore a black and pink outfit with the symbol of the Kais embedded on the front of his attire. He was whistling happily until the elderly man shouted, "King Kai! It's an emergency!"

The crystal ball showed the blue-skinned God's top antennae vibrated violently as he held his head with both arms, cringing in pain. An angered, "Ow," came from the surprised king. "Could you not!? I was just--"

"There's no time for 'justing', King Kai," the elder Kai interrupted. "It's Goku Black! He's still alive! And he's on our planet as we speak!" King Kai stopped for a moment. He needed to break down what the old man just said. Were they referring to that evil Kai from Universe 10 who used the Dragon Balls to switch bodies with the Saiyan?

Hmm... He was told that Lord Zeno himself personally eliminated the threat. And he was still breathing? Talk about perseverance. "I know it sounds like a big joke, but it's true! I swear!" The Kai with antennas scratched his chin. If he were honest, he'd say he hardly heard a thing about him, other than the fact that he was essentially an evil Goku. If this behavior from the elderly Kai was spurred by a spontaneous appearance, then this 'Goku Black' definitely meant trouble. "Don't worry," he said. "I'll get our Goku and Vegeta over there right now!" The first two deities let out a heavy sigh of relief.

* * *

It was a hot summer day on planet Earth. The Sun was beating down on a man with spikey black hair. He was sweating a lot and his orange and blue gi was soaked, but that's because he was in the middle of a training session with his 'best buddy'. About an hour ago, they had just healed themselves from an epic battle, which would serve as a motivator for them to get used to fighting in their lesser forms more easily.

He was flying towards the Saiyan with a widow's peak at light speed, ready to land a punch. Before he could, though, he heard a voice in his head. "Goku," the voice cried. The Saiyan knew this voice! It's King Kai! He stopped in midair to respond. The other Saiyan paused as well, dropping his readied defenses. "Hey, King Kai," he greeted. "It's been a hot minute since I've heard from you."

King Kai chuckled shortly. "Yes," he agreed. But, now wasn't the time for long-talk. "Listen," he continued. He explained the details to the battle crazy brawlers in full. Goku's jaw dropped like a rock in the ocean. Instantly, that shock changed into a face of displeasure. "Where is he," the other Saiyan called in an aggressive tone. He was also appalled by what he just heard from King Kai. That sharp tongued prick was still kicking, huh?

It never ceased to amaze him how this cocky bastard managed to pull something out of his oh-so divine ass. It bugged the fuck out of him, especially since it was the body of his eternal rival. King Kai proceeded to inform them. "He's on the Supreme Kai's world," he said firmly. "Move it or lose it, guys!"

"Will do," Goku agreed. He rested the first two of his left hand on his forehead and reached his right hand out to the other Saiyan. "Here, Vegeta, take my hand." Fuuuuuuuuhh... The peeved prince puffed for his pride. "Seriously," groaned Vegeta. "C'mon, 'Geets--"

"Stop calling me that, Goddamnit!" It felt so weird to hold hands with his eternal rival, no matter the circumstances.

But, he had to admit that this was different. "You know what," he began. The one who and made his son's life nothing short of hell. The one who disgracefully stripped Kakarot of his own body. He was still kicking, practically begging to go through the worst pain. Vegeta didn't care how or when he returned. "Fine. Let's move, Kakarot!" He willingly grabbed his rival's hand. "Alright," Goku cheered, and they disappeared.

All that mattered to the Prince of Saiyans was proving how a **true** Saiyan's potential was limitless. A poser who plagiarizes the original's hard work can only get so much praise.

* * *

The half-Saiyan slashed and kicked and punched his way through the army of clones in midair.

One of the Gohans attempted to roundhouse kick him from behind. It landed successfully on his neck, but Black didn't flinch at all. "Ooh, that might leave a bruise," he boasted. "Second level it is!" Sparks of electricity zapped around him. He grabbed the clone's leg with his right hand and then rammed his left elbow into the joint. It's leg was bent like pretzel, yet it didn't show any evidence of pain or suffering. It just kept that same old zombie face. Come on! Black dropped the clone, winded up his clenched fist, and pounded the air in the clone's direction. The focused bubble of air dismantled it into several miniature pieces.

As Black continued to destroy the clones, a tornado of parts and pieces drenched in bloodied oil swirled around to one-man-army. Oh, the utter delight, despite the fact that they were far from the real thing and hardly sentient. Just the realistic image of tearing them apart brought happiness to the hybrid. To slaughter the filthy and arrogant pratts who treated the Gods so carelessly; It always soothed him as the anger he carried for such ample amounts of time was released. _Jeez_ , said the annoyance in his head. _Why are you so violent?_ Black blew another clone to dust.

"When can you let me fight," he mimicked. "You have been a hopeless chatterbox since the beginning!" This thing needed to leave now. He needed to find a way to shut it up.

"Either you willingly step yourself out, or I make you."

_I can't do that now! You'll die!_

Black sliced another clone's head off while the punk was talking. Blood and oil spewed up and out like a fountain. "Did you not just explain how your top priority was your ally's safety?"

_Yes, but..._

"Then find her, you twat! I do not require anyone's help with these measly fruit flies, especially the assistance of a foolish lightbulb like yourself!"

"The hinderance of my capabilities caused by this irregular force matters not! I will never lose to an assault this pathetic, regardless of the conditions!"

This host was so belittling. The young soul nearly agreed with him. But, the sudden appearance of two other beings spiced things up. _What the..._

* * *

"Hey! Shin!"

"Goku! Vegeta! Thank goodness you're here!"

"So, where's Kakarot's copycat?"

"Hee-hee~ Try to say that five times fast."

"He's on the other side of the planet. Hurry! He's being attacked by more clones!"

"Catch him by surprise, you whippersnappers!"

"More clones? I thought we got rid of them all."

"Hold on. We can't just jump right in and expect victory right off the bat. Hmm..."

"I got it! I'll use Instant Transmission to scout the situation, then come right back. That way, we'll know what to do with him firsthand."

"That's not a bad idea, youngin'."

"Fine by me. As long as I get to land the killing blow when we get there."

* * *

It could sense that someone just landed on the planet. Two people, really. And the Ki signatures were scarily familiar, too. The spirit needed to ensure they weren't noticed. Otherwise, the mission was over.

The spirit secretly edited Black's sensory stimulations. _There we go._

"What? What did you just do?"

_Nothing, really. Let's trash the rest of 'em while we can!_

"Very well."

The hybrid was too busy having fun dissecting the rest of the black and red cronies to notice or even care what the soul had done to his senses. So much fun, he could care less whether the soul stayed or left. Before he knew it, only one of each remained. They each powered up to maximum levels, while Black only used around 35%. They actually put up a decent fight. For fifteen seconds.

Ah, that felt so good in so many ways. His blade hummed with grace. The liquids that were stained upon it evaporated quickly as he grinned psychotically. Black landed on the ground and speculated the art he had just painted all over the field reeking with scents of melted skin and titanium. Hmph. It wasn't enough. It was missing something. Or someone. The demigod could hear footsteps crunching on leafs and grass from behind. A sharp *cling* insult his ears. He groaned with dismay. "The creator of these fools remade you, too?" He turned to face his enemy.

That jacket. Those shoes, the baggy pants. The Capsule Corporation logo embedded on the shoulder. And that accursed toy he carried on his back for so many years. He knew who this model represented. The Hybrid Saiyan, born from Prince Vegeta and his earthling wife, Bulma Briefs:

Trunks Briefs. The time traveler. The taboo breaker. The wrench in Zamasu's Zero-Mortals Plan!

"YOU."

Black shot forward and swung his blade at the clone, who managed to block it. But, it wasn't able to defend against the punch aimed for its chest. A balled up fist crashed through, grabbing the power core in the process. The hand carrying the core shattered it to pieces with its grip. No emotions, still. Just another blank face. How utterly distasteful. This Saiyan was supposed to be determined to fight for the ticks infesting the omniverse and would show his pain obviously. More determined than Goku. The clone dropped to its knees before falling flat. Black then raised his oily hand and readied his Ki bombs.

He shot all of remains of every deactivated faker until there was nothing left. "Better." After that, he turned and faced the crater. His subconscious had a growing curiosity. _You seem to have beef with that particular clone_ , it pointed out. The host sighed. "Yes, and I would prefer not to let a word slip my tongue," he exhaled, marching over to the crater. _Welp, there goes another topic for conversation_. The demigod weakened more with every step, but he struggled on.

He peered over the edge to look. Nothing. Nothing aside from dirt, and a couple chunks of solid/melted rock. "Are you sure this ally of yours is even functional anymore," he asked the spark. A positive, _Yes_ _,_ came from the pipsqueak. _She's here. C'mon, let's get in there._

_She's most likely buried beneath some of this rubble._

_Right now, we can't let anyone know what we're doing. Let's do this quickly._

"Must I dirty my hands more than I have already," The half-Saiyan whined as he slid down the slope and braked before hitting the center. Son of a biscuit, he scratched a nail. _You barely got hit sweeping those clones aside_ , his companion squealed. Jesus, this guy was overly narcissistic. "Fine, I will commit," Black shouted back. "But, do you honestly have to raise your voice every time you speak?" He felt around the place to see where the energy drained him the most. He couldn't sense anything, currently. On the other hand, he could definitely locate the source of this disturbance. There. He cupped his blade into a pickaxe and began to dig. 

Truthfully, of all the things he put on the list of activities he never thought of doing in his life, 'grave-digging' certainly wasn't on that list. In any case, Black continued to shovel the earth out of the way. He kept going, and going, and going- until an obnoxious *SLOOSH* sounded, indicating that he finally hit something. Something squishy? It wasn't like wet soil or hot magma at all, though.

He moved his tool around little more. Ew, what sort of polymer is this? He regretfully persisted on digging up whatever the hell was stuck in this hole. Ew, ew, ew, so disgusting. For a moment he could see some... pink? Black was so confused by this, he could barely say a word to describe his feelings. Only his expressions could convey the nausea swelling up. A few more minutes of drilling away the scorched earth passed. All he could see now was pink. However, this pink was beyond normal. It was a small blob of this weird, sticky, pink goop. And it was moving! It shifted and swayed back and forth as if it were alive. Oh, by the Gods, he was so close to puking.

Black jumped back when he caught a full glance of this mutation. _Aha!_ _I knew it!_ _She's alive! Barely functional, but alive!_

...What?

The soul spoke to its host in. _She's still alive because of the Spirit Bomb's one weakness._ Black was listening loud and clear.

_The Spirit Bomb is only lethal to those who don't have a pure heart like 21's. Still, that doesn't mean she can't take damage from the shockwaves. All that remains is this slushy cluster-husk. For now, at least._

Surely, it jested. There was no conceivable way this abomination was 'Android #21'. Impossible. There's no logic behind it! Gathering the tolerance to deal with that brat, wasting a bunch of bipedal zombie machines, doing a mortal's job for them. All for nothing!? Black was absolutely livid that he had just been played like this by a mortal, yet again!

No, no, no, calm yourself. That brat would most likely get in the way if he tried to annihilate this creature now. He needed a plan; an opportunity to get rid of that brat AND this freak of nature. Destroying the blob would be easy. The brat mentioned something regarding how its companion forced the soul out of her body. How did this monstrosity manage to do that? Black theorized while he still could. Maybe. Just... maybe.

The spark ejected itself out of Black's body, and the storm of debilitating Ki hit him like an Angel's lightspeed transport. "Rgh! Wha... are you... uuuuugh." From what he could gather, that little guy must have been reducing the effects of this field from the start. His knees were wobbling, and his arms were shaking out of control. This was unbearably intense. Fair enough, he gave it a little less credit than it should have received. The soul plunged its way into the blob's insides.

Just then, a flashback popped in the half-Saiyan's head as he helplessly watched. He recollected how a woman rushed into a giant sphere of energy and seemingly killed herself. Black thought about what the soul just said and connected the dots in his fuzzy mind. Was this 'Android #21' the person in his dream? Once again, the world faded from sight. He groaned as silence sank into his ears.

The ball of light made its way through the jumbled organs and gooey messes of machinery. Eugh, it was much more sanitary back then before everything went wrong that day. The screams, the terrible screams. They were wretched and desperate. But, most of all, pleading. Pleading for her to reconsider her actions. It could still remember her best friend's most tearful shouting. How it tormented the spirit to the core.

She, lest it forgot, was careful and considerate. She deserved and always deserved a much better fate than destruction. How dare that crude excuse of a warrior say such dumbfounding things behind her back. Idiot!

As it drifted through what looked like the digestive system, it found numerous pieces and wires sticking to the sides. Of course, her mechanical parts were vandalized by the Spirit Bomb's power. Just then, something caught its sight. Something very familia... dear god.

There was a small antenna sticking out of a mangled intestine. It was slowly, barely blinking a red light at the tip. _So that thing survived too._ Should the soul tell his new host? _No, he wouldn't understand._ So, the spirit moved on.

Finally, it reached its destination.

Within a few seconds, the spirit popped out of the goo-pile and shot back into Black's chest. The half-Saiyan, lying in the dirt moments ago, jumpstarted and stood up as straight as an arrow. He looked ahead of him to see the blob sloshing around disturbingly. "What have you done with that thing," he questioned angrily.

The voice hummed as the oversized bubblegum shaped itself. _I rebooted her regen chip. She'll be back to normal in a few. Also, she has a gender. Female._

"Whatever," Black scoffed. "'She' is a machine, nonetheless. What exactly is the difference?" Pieces of pink gunk shrank and shifted into place. "Oh?" A large floof of messy red hair emerged from what looked like a head. Two arms and legs gushed out and molded from the four outermost corners.

This slushy substance was taking on the form of a human. The figure lay on the ground while her skin smoothed out, changing to a light color. After everything else was organized, the front of the blob was finally sculpted into that of a young woman's face. A red and navy-blue checkered dress with very very dark grey sleeves on her forearms were revealed along with some skinny black leggings in a pair of opposing red and navy-blue high-heels. A large white coat was wrapped around the figure's dress as its face was nearly complete. The hybrid noticed how this machine was also sporting a dark pair of reading glasses.

At last, she was complete; brought back from the shadows of the valley of death. Very interesting indeed. There, lying flat and motionless on the ground, was (hopefully) Android #21. Her real configuration!

The cybernetic lady's eyelids flapped open and closed. Seconds passed and they began to adjust, showcasing a lustrous pair of sapphire eyes. She picked herself up steadily and surveyed the environment. Strange. This didn't look like Heaven or Hell. In fact, it looked like... what did Goku pronounce this setting again? The Supreme Kai's World.

She ran a speedy analysis about her condition. No critical damage. She tilted her head up and her optics widened. There wasn't a halo on her head like she researched. Was she alive? If so, then how? She looked ahead to see... "Goku?" She focused harder. Yeah, it was Goku! Wait, no, it wasn't.

*Sigh* "It's just another clone." She glared in Black's direction. Black and red Gi, spiked yellow hairstyle. Yep, definitely a clone.

The demigod's heart raced. Not that he was intimidated or anything. He certainly wasn't expecting that look, though. "Why have I not expired," #21 whispered to herself. She looked at her hands and skin. They were back to normal, too. It didn't make sense. 

Her memory banks were thankfully still intact, but they weren't all that stable. She could, at least, understand what happened before now. However, she couldn't quite understand how she wasn't destroyed by that bomb attack. "Oh well, I'll just have to find out on my own. After I handle this faker." With luck, her combat data files haven't been scrambled either.

Faker? Clone? Huh. So she did carry some sentience after all. Black exhaled hard through his nose. Great. It was already close to being more triggering than the ball of light. What a complicated creation of mankind.

#21's aura spiked sky high as she shuffled into her battle stance. Never mind the details; time to focus. When he did, however, the hybrid began to sweat a little. His Saiyan blood boiled with high expectations. The chilling wind rustled and thrashed about, knocking the demigod a few inches back. He couldn't get a fix on her Ki, but the immense pressure was increasing exponentially by the second. His Gi fluttered rapidly. He raised his right hand and saw his ring glowing, warning him about the humongous power this mechanical human possessed. He underestimated this man-made product. "Oh my," he gasped. She had so much power! Could this woman fight? Her design resembled that of a human scientist, yes, but there was something else about her.

She might prove to be a threat in the future. A threat to his utopia! Oh, that was one line no mortal was allowed to cross, despite their place in the pecking order. Black took his own stance. There was no way he would allow his hopes be ruined again.

Then, his plan was idealized. If this woman carried a supposedly gigantic supply of energy, does that mean she used said force to isolate herself? The soul spoke up. _What are you going to do_ , it asked nervously. Black sniffed with connivance. "I shall accept her challenge," he whispered sneakily. Now!

_What!? No, sto...! Agh--_

Anything this mortal machine could do, a successor of the Gods could do far better. The demigod cleared his mind of all thoughts. "...And do battle with her alone." Energy was soaring straight up and throughout his interior. Doing so resulted in drowning out that bothersome noise. He couldn't even feel its presence in his body or mind. But, it was nowhere to be seen outside of his body, either. The exhaustion still lingered as well, even though it was lifted slightly.

Pah! He likely used too much and dispersed it. How amusing. So many uses, yet so much fragility. It served its purpose in explaining everything to him. Praise be, some peace and quiet. He gathered his energy and prepared himself.

Wait, he was getting something on his mental radar and it wasn't just him. It was the woman in front of him! Black could sense Ki emitting from her and it was MASSIVE for a humane mech. Plus, it looked similar to his own when he fought the Saiyan rebellion. The tyranny of a quaint universe.

Two more signatures appeared. More clones? No, they were quite familiar. In fact, their strength exceeded the clones by a longshot. The hybrid sighed with disgruntlement. The rebellious Saiyans from before. He figured this would happen.

Of course that bastard was hiding something during his fight with that sloppy armada of trash. Tsk, tsk. One of them was near, while the other was at an optimal distance. It would seem that the unintentional demise of the spirit corrupting his brain was amazingly beneficial.

He'd tussle with the old meat later. There was no wrong in having a final snack before the main course, anyway. An energetic whirlwind of yellow and red light could be seen from miles away. Trees were blown over by the strong wind, bolts of lightning vaporized parts of the ground where the fighters stood.

Black grinned as he repeated the names the redhead gave him in his mind. "So you consider me as one of those worthless blotches among the universe," he questioned irritably. The woman paused. "Well then, let us see if you can live to keep that claim."

Fascinating; this one was capable of speaking in the English language. Perhaps it was an evolved or updated version. She never recalled making one like this.

Seconds later, the whirlwind vanished as a mach speed collision of wrists upheaved the land.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next chapter's gonna conclude this mini-arc and get into the real goods, just so you all know. I PROMISE!  
> Thanks for your support!


	5. Repentance

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm baaaaaaack!! I apologize for making you all wait. AGAIN. Mind-boggling, I know.
> 
> Moving on: I never expected this work to get so much support so fast. Really, thank you so much! In any case, this chapter shall conclude this mini arc where Black and #21 meet for the first time. Hope ye enjoy!
> 
> (P.S. Brace yourselves, because I've devoted all the action into this big lengthy chapter. It is LOOOOOOONG af.)

The trio of figures were waiting anxiously on the other side of the planet for news from Goku. Vegeta's arms were crossed, his left index finger impatiently tapping his right bicep. What was that dumbass doing, dawdling around? The man with the widows peak felt an incredible surge of power moments ago, and he was starting to get pissed.

It was definitely Black's Ki, but there was someone else there. It wasn't just him and the clown. He was most likely batting a strong opponent. Everyone could sense Black's Ki... but, not the person he's fighting with. Nobody could get a fix on that person at all for some reason. Surely, it wasn't the clown trying to steal the kill.

In a few seconds, a flash of orange appeared five yards before the bystanders. There he was! It's Goku! He was on his knees with his hands clenching the soft grass. The Saiyan was also panting fast and hard. "Kakarot," Vegeta exclaimed as they all rushed to him. "What the hell happened over there!?"

Kakarot kept his head hanging low as his rival continued to assault him with words. "We could sense an insane spike of energy all the way from over here! As a matter of fact, two of them!" Vegeta didn't pause to even let the other Saiyan catch his breath.

"Speak up, Kakarot! What did you see!?"

"Let him regather himself, you fool," scolded the old Kai next to him. Shin quickly walked over to Goku and kneeled, resting a hand on his shoulder. Why was it so cold? Immediately, the problem was identified through telepathy. "Ah! His Ki is nearly drained dry!" The man in the orange gi began to glow a soothing white. "Ugh," he murmured as he sat up. "Oh!" Soon enough, he was back on his feet with that typical smile. "Wow, thanks, Supreme Kai!" The younger deity's face brightened up. Glad to see he wasn't hurt or anything.

The Saiyan's face, however, changed from enthusiasm to seriousness. He frowned as he looked at everyone. "Well," Vegeta swallowed. He knew that whenever Kakarot gave that look, something bad was sure to occur. "What did you see?" Goku sighed. It was hard for him to put this into words. "Black," he began. "He's definitely still kicking. He's not as strong as when we last saw him, though." The others let out relieved exhales. "But, there's something else. **Someone** else." Everyone was silent.

"Android #21. She survived the Spirit Bomb, and Black's taking her head on as we speak!"

There wasn't a sound to be heard aside from the shocked breaths from each person standing around him. Nobody said anything. They were rendered speechless. Not only was Goku Black, the time traveling conquerer of Gods, still living and breathing, but so was Android #21, their supposedly deceased friend! The ground rumbled from the distant battle as the prince finally spoke up. "We have to go for it, now!" The prince marched away before Kakarot grabbed him by the back of his armor. "We can't, Vegeta!"

His rival whipped his head to the right around and shouted, "Why not!? We need get there before shit hits the fan!" Kakarot's expression became very serious. The prince turned his whole body to face him. That damn look again. "I nearly passed out over there, Vegeta," Goku stated. "I can't explain it, but there was a mysterious force keeping me from getting too close. When I did, it weakened me, made my line of sight all wonky. Kinda like that strange device #21 made."

"Hold on," Vegeta interrupted. "Are you saying that damn box of scrap's still functional after being digested AND detonated?!"

"That's not what I meant! Please, trust me Vegeta. We can't risk it."

Vegeta wiggled out of Kakarot's grip. But, instead of rushing off, he stayed where he was put. That look in Kakarot's eyes; he meant business. The prince grumbled and muttered numerous swear words under his breath while the two Kais just kept shaking with fear. "W-What are we supposed to do now," the elder Kai shuttered. "Anything could happen n-now!"

Goku only frowned more. "I... don't know."

* * *

The demigod's fist was balled up as the wrist of his hand pushed against its opponent's. The sharp wind pierced through everything in its range. Stray pebbles and rocks were blown aside, while the small mountains around the combatants cracked and crumbled. Both fighters were launched a few feet away from each other, but they managed to keep their footing as they landed. The two rushed at each other again, this time with their fists slammed against each other's. More earth was shattered by their impact.

Black threw his free left fist at her. "Learn to behave, swine," he mocked. But, the moment that fist was a foot in front of #21's face, the cyborg leaned to her left, dodging the assault. Strands of red hair were the only thing the half-Saiyan could graze. "Hmm?" Black was certainly taken aback by this.

The woman tried to do the same, but her attack was blocked rather than dodged. Flurries of punches and kicks from both sides smashed together even harder. The two brawlers were exchanging blows at the speed of sound. #21 flipped back to avoid an incoming jab and wrapped her legs around the whole arm. She landed on her hands and lifted Black up and over her. The hybrid, with his eyes wide in surprise, was slammed into the earth. His head snapped back as the impact ruptured his bones. Nothing broke, it just hurt.

The man in the dark Gi grunted with interest as he quickly flipped over, and hit the ground feet first, sliding to a stop. _So she can counter,_ he assumed as he stood back up. How unsightly. The woman suddenly dashed right in front of him, kneeing him in the sternum. _Ggh_ _! She's fast, too!_

She's definitely got some speed in her. Blurring fists and feet from both sides continued to fly and collide with each other. The half-Saiyan flinched before attempting to punch her away using his right arm, but she pushed that arm aside with a right palm strike and thrusted her left elbow into his ribs. Black gasped for air as the impact blew it out. The following back kick shot him dozens of feet away.

He performed numerous backflips and stuck the landing as his feet touched the ground. Black then rocketed towards #21 until he was mere inches away. The cyborg was ready to defend, but she wasn't aware of Black's abilities.

The hybrid put two right hand fingers to his forehead before vanishing instantaneously. "What in the world?" #21 was caught off guard. Wasn't that one of her allies' techniques?

She found it was when a nasty dropkick was delivered to her backside right between the shoulder blades, sending her flying a hundred meters through the air. Black did the same trick again, this time hitting her with a soccer kick that launched her even higher. Once more, with a Ki-blast! #21 defended herself before it hit, but the knockback still sent her downward. She hit the soil and grass hard head first, a cloud of dust exploding upon impact. The cloud extended until a wall of water was lifted up high. With a *SPLOSH* and a *SPLASH*, the cyborg tumbled and rolled through the dust into a five-meter deep river.

Ow... that smarts. Quite impressive for a semi-mecha-type. Huh? Why were her optic sensors blurry? She certainly wasn't fatigued. Her targeting radar picked something up. She looked to her right. She saw her glasses in the drink, barely holding on to a small sunken pebble. Oh dear god, please no. She needed those! #21 quickly pulled them out an examined them. Phew. Luckily, there wasn't a crack in them. They're just a little wet, nothing major. She pinched her right fingers into a bit of her coat's fabric to wipe them. Tsk, tsk. Great. This thing's wet too.

As she slowly stood back up, the woman looked at herself. "Come ON," she groaned. Her outfit and coat were drenched and spotted with bits of algae. She just got them back. Eh, never mind. She should just be happy she's internally waterproof. Plus, destroying this faker was her primary task. She'd put these clothes through the washers later. #21 reapplied her glasses after rubbing the mess with the driest bit of fabric she could feel. That spot was her left shoulder.

A geisha of water was sprayed across the grassland when she sprinted, at sixty miles an hour to her opponent's surprise, towards Black. Before #21 could land a hard side kick, though, Black leapt back and kicked some dust up. "You seem to be having fun this, mortal witch," he questioned cockily. Agh, she should have saw that coming! The woman wiped her optics out. Nobody was there. Where's the clone? He's completely vanished!

The abrupt appearance of a signature only a few yards away caught her attention. #21 turned around. Now, she was staring the 'clone' straight in his mint eyes.

Black was standing in front of her with a devilish face. His sinister smirk made it obvious to the cyborg that he was actually enjoying this fight. The woman felt a chill crawl deliciously down her spine, starting from where she was struck before. Quite the bravado for a clone. However, she refused to falter here. She had to take him seriously, now. "I must commend you for your experience in combat," #21 complimented as she walked closer to him. Her radiant aura burst into a crimson fireball as she spoke. "However, I cannot allow you to live. You are a clone whose genetics have evolved too dangerously for you to live with this planet's civilization." She got into her stance again as her opponent growled.

Black was getting tired of that label.

More importantly, she able to withstand his attacks. That's what amazed him. Normally, a human would be in bloody pieces just from a single punch. In case it wasn't obvious enough, the woman had quite the endurance. *Sigh* Fine. It would seem he would have to use some power after all. Actually, no. He couldn't use that form now, not when he's already being weighted down. That transformation would take way too much stamina for him to fight, and it's not like his other forms were any better. Any higher level might just knock him out instantly in these conditions.

The demigod needed to finish her as soon as possible without tiring himself out too much. He stored his inner energy to power up. "You have no conceivable idea who I am, nor do you have the privilege of knowing," he warned with a heavy exhalation. "But, if you insist..." Ki coursed through his head and body. His power level was increasing fast as he growled. The ground began to shake. "You keep calling me a 'clone' like I am old news," he grumbled through his shut jaw. Electricity zoomed all around him as his hair stretched in all directions.

The time was ripe. "Can a 'clone' do this!?" With a mighty roar, Black's Ki flared as the sunny aura whooshed around him. Sparks flew and bolts circled him endlessly.

#21 stopped dead in her tracks before the wind pushed her an inch back. It blew rocks and small stones at her, cutting a few holes through her clothes **(thankfully, without revealing anything embarrassing).** Darn it, now she had more work to do afterwards.

That aside, she was amazed by this strength. While she was analyzing how to counter it, she recognized how its energy readings were off the scale. Such strength and energy! Hold on, she saw someone do this before. From what she heard, this was the full extent of 'Super Saiyan Two', also known as Super Saiyan Two: Grade III. Weird.

Come to think of it, was this person standing before her really a clone? Honestly, she wasn't that good with assumptions. But, how come he looked like someone she knew before he changed himself? The outfit and haircut practically told her he was another one of those Frankensteins based off of the Z-Fighters.

She decided to ceasefire and ask what this man's purpose was. "Who are you, and how are you able to do that," she questioned, raising her voice a little. Black only gave the woman a dirty look in response.

He grouched, "As I said before, my origins are of no concern to the likes of you," before charging more aura. "All that matters is enacting my revenge against the Saiyans who rejected my reasoning, and you're standing right in the middle of my path to glory!"

The Saiyans? Reasoning? What was he talking about? She now knew for sure he was a living and breathing organism with sentience. #21 was positive that this man was far from being a plain and simple copy like the rest. They weren't designed to handle things alone like this individual could. However, there was something about him that made the cyborg feel just as nervous as she did when she fought her fair share.

He seemed angered; frustrated with something or someone he needed to interact with. #21 put an index finger to her chin, staring off into space.

The Saiyans. Oh. Oh dear. He was referring to _those_ Saiyans! He was probably going after the ones who assisted her in her predicament a while back. "You shall suffer my wrath, witch!" No. This wasn't the time to think about the details, not here. She had to focus on the battle!

Although she no longer felt as comfortable fighting him as she did before learning he was an organic, she had little to no choice, considering this individual didn't seem to show any signs of letting up. She must defend her allies at all costs. Who knows what this person could be capable of if not kept on a leash?

The redhead's arms untucked themselves from the sleeves of her already ruined coat. Her left one clenched the opposite shoulder. The coat was tossed to the wind. It flew fast through the air until a spike of earth that was lifted from underground during the fight caught it, fabric flapping helplessly. "If you're serious about making me 'suffer your wrath'," She proposed with her fingers doing quotation movements. "Then you should prove it to me in combat."

"Show me that you're above those juxtapositional flies."

Say no more. A large web of ruthless yellow Ki-blasts from Black's side raced for the redhead, who managed to deflect and evade the majority of them without much trouble. Dozens of bright lights exploded all around her, destroying everything within the radius of their bursts, leaving more huge holes in the soil.

She then bolted towards the non-clone, jumped high into the sky, dodged more beams in midair, and proceeded to axe-kick him with her right leg. "I can take the pain," she proclaimed-- prematurely. Black blocked the attack by grabbing the heel of the woman's incoming leg with his left hand. He pushed it out of the way, spun around, and countered with a left chop to the stomach, flinging the woman aside.

When #21 recovered by stopping herself on a stray boulder, she thought about his reflexes just now. She wasn't expecting him to counter that. "Impressive," congratulated the redhead. Just then, Black could be seen doing something with his left hand. It was filled to the brim with energy. This peeked the woman's interest as she got back on ground level.

Black's voice grew louder and louder while his hand glowed the same sunlight as it did during the 1v40. "Hah!" His thin, vengeful blade reemerged from the stained hand. This time, it was bigger, and it was more shaped like a scimitar.

The spiky blonde flew at the cyborg, ready to sweep her head clean off with a spinning slice. The cyborg fought back with a backhanded fist to defend from the blade arm followed by a fierce left haymaker to the face. Damn, she actually made him flinch, despite the triple power increase this fully-powered transformation provided. Black warped to her and delivered a hard uppercut to her jaw, shooting #21 over ninety feet into the sky. She rubbed said jaw before looking around. He's gotten much stronger.

A glimmer of yellow light could be seen from where she was before, swishing through the air. The demigod was racing up at her. Quickly, #21 formed a strategy. She dived down like a pro swimmer as gravity did its job. _Hmm..._ Black could see her skydiving. But why? What was she planning?

He saw a deep red shine from both of her hands. They disappeared when she clapped them together. Then, a burst of crimson smoke puffed around her. "What the hell," the half-Saiyan exclaimed, putting his arms in a cross to block from the radiating heat and smoke.

This was her advantage. Tens of thousands of blood colored blasts screamed towards him through like a swarm of wasps, catching the hybrid off guard. Countless midair combustions of deep red burst into particles and smoke from the point of impact. Each zooming bomb forced him back down to ground level by twelve feet as they struck him. They were so fast and so powerful, he barely had time to avoid them!

He managed to deflect some of it and prevent too much injury. More explosions warped the atmosphere.

Huh? Why did it stop? Hang on. Where did she go!? Suddenly, the woman he was after spontaneously appeared behind him. "What the--!?" How did she get behind him? The redheaded cyborg grabbed Black's gi by the hem, pulled her left arm back, charged a big sphere of energy in the palm of her hand, and aimed it her target's torso. He couldn't do anything! Not at point-blank range!

*BOOSH!*

The explosive ball of plasma pounded him hard in the rib cage, catapulting the demigod into a cliff. Dust flew into the air and rocks, big and small, were scattered in every direction around the crash landing. Black, pinned by the boulders, opened his sanded eyes. "What in Kami's name," he amused. His right eye lid was twitching as his mouth opened wide. The bombardment of crimson wasn't finished yet.

Bending pillars of dark energy were sprayed upon the chipped mountain. The hybrid jumped as high as his feet would let him, dodging the fleet of lasers before they demolished what was left of the hillside Black hit. When the smoke cleared, all that remained was a dozen craters smaller than the one he saw before. Smog arose from the holes in the ground as a camp of blood-red flares danced dangerously.

The half-Saiyan pierced through thick white clouds like a needle on his way up to the redhead in the sky. He put his right hand forward before a sphere of bright yellow aura emerged from it. As his blade was held back, ready to slash, another light show of Ki-blasts flew around #21. She dodged through them on her way down as several combustions rippled in the distance. Then, a strange sphere of red formed around her.

Some of the Ki-blasts finally managed to hit her. But, to no avail. They just bounced off of the sphere around her, bursting far away. A force field. Great. #21 lowered her shield the moment the two fighters were in close quarters. The redhead forward-flipped like a cannonball, then unfolded with her knees out. Black lunged forward with his blade before him.

This time, it landed. The sword was plunged straight through #21's core.

Yes! A direct hit straight through her chest! Victory was... his? In an instant, whatever he thought was his opponent faded into nothingness.

An afterimage! How could he be so careless?

Immediately, the real deal saw this as her chance. She held her right arm back and threw it forward. With an ear piercing shout, her clenched fist was ferociously slammed against Black square in his face, spit flying everywhere. Black's muffled howl of pain through scrunched cheeks could not signify the anger he beared any more than it likely did.

While he was stunned, #21 grabbed his throat and the pair rocketed through the air like bullets. The hybrid couldn't tell what she was doing, and they were going too fast for him to do anything! Before he knew what was happening, he felt the concrete-like hit his back side multiple times.

The redhead, right hand squeezing her opponent's neck, scorched through the sky at max speed, drilling them both through mountain after mountain with Black taking almost all of the brunt at once every time. He grunted as he figured it out, his vision going from dark to bright over and over whenever a new tunnel was dug. Several dust clouds formed from each point of impact as they busted through and out each one

At last, they blew threw one final cliffside. The cyborg let go and pushed him back more with a two-handed focus blast of wind. Thank Kami, it was over. Black struggled to balance himself out, then stopped midair. Ow... He felt like he got a concussion from that one. When he looked at the woman again, he noticed how she wasn't free-falling like a normal human would. Was she...? Yep. He certainly wasn't hallucinating. Ugh, what a drag. So, not only could she manipulate her own source of energy, she was also capable of flight like the Saiyans and the other deities.

The demigod never believed that mortals could change like this. All the more reason to wipe them out before they challenge their superiors. He could see the cyborg folding her arms. Son of a bitch, she was still mocking him! Wait. There was a strange something traveling from his lips. Eugh! It tasted awful!

He used the back of his right hand to wipe it away. Huh? What was this red liquid? He examined it before his eyes traveled further down. His Gi was in shreds, dozens of cuts of several shapes and sizes tearing through the fabric. Arms, legs, even parts of his chest. Some of the ripped spots even revealed the same red liquid.

Blood...!

He was bleeding, not just from the mouth, but from a multitude of places! And they stung agonizingly when he touched them, too. He felt around where #21 had hit him a moment ago. More blood! There's just more lines dripping down! Nothing was bent out of shape or positioned funnily. It was just countless scratches, cuts, gashes, and bruises that burned unbearably. Still, he was in no position to show anger, as difficulties were expected beforehand.

Black just smirked while staring coldly at #21. There were so many things he wanted to do to this lowlife for trying to insult him like this! However, he would not dare make the same mistakes he would make months before the present.

He pondered what he should do in this situation. Should he go for a strong blast? Maybe use this body's signature attack? No, that would take too long to charge, and this woman seemed too smart to let him just go for it. He attempted to theorize other strategies to win. There had to be some way. Black felt that he had to act a lot more cautiously in battle. Mainly because of his most recent loss that nearly cost him his life.

Shamefully, nothing else pointed to an easy win. Black was left with no other option but to beat #21 at a gamble of stamina. Speaking of which...

_Why isn't this woman effected by the magic around us?_

_It's been making this battle so much harder than it needed to be._

_Just how?_

_How?_

_Why?_

The stress was getting to him, despite what he told himself. Sweat ran down his face, breathing was getting faster, blood pressure was growing.

_This woman has so much power for no logical reason!_

_What has the universe come to?_

_None of what happened within the last ten minutes makes a damn bit of sense at all!_

_What did she do to get this strong so unexpectedly?_

_How?_

His Ki-covered sword was flaming with aura, the aura radiating from his own emotions. He could not allow this to happen. He couldn't. He wouldn't. Never in a million years. Defeat at the hands of mortals that rival the Gods was one thing. To lose at the hands of a mere apprentice, though? A soulless machine he tasked himself with destroying only a few minutes back?

The half-Saiyan gently flew upwards, gradually picking up speed on his way up. He was over a thousand meters in the air before #21 could scan his altitude. Black stopped when he reached fifty thousand feet. He was panting as he looking down at the surface of the planet. How was he losing? I couldn't be that he was weaker than before, right? _Weak... I am not weak!_ The heat from his blade soon engulfed the rest of his body.

The demigod found himself laughing loudly. "At first, I was trying to stop you before you would intrude upon my plans," he boomed without warning. "On the other hand," he continued, vocals still toned with malcontent. "I shall now strive to **_kill_** you, not just because you are in my way, but because I cannot afford to suffer any more humiliation than I already have!"

"I will not allow this fantasy to continue! Being singlehandedly defeated by a machine is a loss I would never want in my records. Not like this! Not so pathetically!" 

The girl looked at him with a smirk. Unexpectedly, the smirk was contagious as Black started smiling himself. She had no idea what was coming. "Contrarily", he said to her, "It is rather intriguing to me that your reflexes are so far above the average human," with a bigger smile than before. "Granted, you are one of humanity's heinous creations. But, that changes nothing." He knew what to do now. He had to combat this cyborg wisely, especially since the draining field was burning him up faster than his own transformation. "I shall take your life before resuming my plans for the earthling plague," he declared proudly.

What nonsense was this strange Saiyan speaking now? He just kept talking about his plans. What were these plans of his, the cyborg wondered. So many theories and queries, so little time to think, apparently.

Black charged at full throttle towards #21. His golden sword, fueled by the seething, white-hot rage racing inside his heart and head, was thrusted ahead of him. His opponent vanished before he could land a hit. He chased after her signature, jumping on and off walls of lifted earth to land a strike. Soon, the pair were zipping and zapping all over the place, colliding and bouncing off each other multiple times.

They quickly ditched the ground and flew high above the clouds. The pair of fighters continued to flash as clouds were blown away from the force of their strikes.

Hmm, this guy was so fascinating to the cyborg. He had tenacity, she couldn't deny that. Whoever he is, wherever he came from, the woman said softly in her consciousness. _I'm not that fond of battling, but he deserves a fair fight. It's better this way._

Suddenly, #21 felt something... weird. A curious sensation, one she hasn't experienced in a while. It was coming from her stomach. Eh, it's probably nothing too serious. Maybe it's a little recoil from the inside.

The moment that thought crossed her mind, the feeling spontaneously grew into a frightful ache. This ache was like pure emptiness and it made the cyborg feel even stranger. Her brain module went blank...

...

Holy shit...

The alarm clock in her RAM went *DING-DONG* rapidly. She knew what this feeling meant, and she almost lost her shit. Most of her was happy for her memory banks, while a small part was regretful and scared.

Her face changed from its stern look. Now, it showed only elements of pure and undeniable fear. #21 clenched her pained stomach with her left and tugged aggressively at bunches of messy hair with her right as her entire body shook. Fucking hell, how in the world could she not have thought of this sooner? She should've been more cautious with her internal systems, she's been overly focused on the lunatic over there. This battle needed to be over NOW before someone gets killed!

#21's opponent found her new behavior eerily aberrant. He wasn't expecting a random meltdown in the middle of their fight, but it managed to put a smile on his face nonetheless. Without warning, the redhead showed her angry teeth, raised her right arm with her first two fingers straightened and pressed them against her forehead.

Only Black's new look could tell his amazement when he saw the technique. Black immediately switched from appeased to shocked. _Is that Instant Transmission!?_ So shocked, he was too distracted and couldn't react in time to block what came next.

#21 instantly warped literally an inch in front of him. She lowered her arm. Then, the woman bashed her forehead against her opponent's, causing him to flip back. "Stand down, now! Or else...!" She then shot the hybrid into the dirt with a painful sledgehammer against his rib cage. When he got back up from the rubble the landing left behind, he chuckled at what the woman just said. 'Stand down'? To hell with that tasteless jest. More importantly, he could sense a drastic increase of power from #21. Where did that come from?

He began to chuckle as he wondered how many people in the omniverse DON'T know that technique in this current age. The half-Saiyan looked up after noticing a red light above him. The cyborg had positioned her arm across her torso. A small pixie of deep red appeared on the tips of her index finger. Her voice became more aggressive as the particle's energy input crescendoed.

The half-Saiyan knew this meant trouble, so he leaned back as far as he could. #21 swiped her arm to the side. An extremely thin beam of red sliced through the ground, creating a whirlwind of dust and fire as it traveled. Luckily, it missed his head but it narrowly managed to shave and singe a few small hairs off. The crimson laser slashed through a earth wall behind him, slicing it clean and perfectly in two. Black quickly used Instant Transmission to avoid a second strike. His instincts served him well as the woman shot a photon wave straight forward, blowing the wall to bits of melted rock. She hastily hunted down her opponent's signature.

Black felt his body temperature rising, and it wasn't just because of all this fire and heat around them. It was rising with anticipation. He was getting excited for some reason.

He spread both of his arms openly and raised them to the air. Black shot dozens of Ki-blasts at once, creating yet another light show. #21 dodged through them a launched an onslaught of her own while flying. An endless show of firework explosions surrounded them as they flew towards each other at mach-speed.

As they were finally within striking range of each other, their fists charged with power tore through the air, crunching hard into both of their faces. The resulting shockwave was so big, it blew away the dust clouds from the Ki-blasts and the remains of chipped mountains far out of sight. The fighters went past each other and hit the ground at the same time, clouds of grass and dirt puffing in their directions.

#21 and Black were face down in the roads they paved in their crash landing. But, the redhead was able to get up much faster than the half-Saiyan could. Unlike him, she didn't take so much damage. To be fair, that last collision did a number on her. The cyborg felt around her left cheek and touched something sludgy. Her own blood was spilled.

She stood up straight and stared down at her opponent, who was struggling just to get his front an inch off the ground. The injuries from before hurt like hell, but the new ones were like the very definition of pain. It hurt too much for him to be fuming with rage. His vision seemed even more damaged than before. He wobbled a little when he managed to pick himself up. For Kami's sake this girl was a lot tougher than he gave her credit for. What made her so strong...? That blank question just wouldn't leave him to think, huh.

Screw it all, he had to find a way to beat her. The hybrid thought back to when they started brawling and let the mental playback do its thing.

This woman was capable of withstanding a multitude of hits from his Super Saiyan Two. She stood up from a river that would short circuit normal machines thoroughly.

She was able to sprint towards Black like an express freight train, and strike at lightning speed. Plus, #21 could devise solutions to man you of the problems Black could serve. She was so fast, mentally and physically.

It wasn't that she had the strength of a god or anything foolish like that. It was her speed, endurance, and stamina that made this clash so fearsome. Not to mention the fact that the half-Saiyan was using a form that sacrificed speed for power AND the magic putting even more pressure on his body.

In many ways, he had to admit she was similar to him-- minus the appearance, of course. Black smirked, but not too obviously. The demigod was breathing hard, indicating to himself and the other individual that he was running out of time. *Sigh* For Kami's sake... He needed to use **real** strategy.

This half-and-half female was a sturdy one, so he'd have to balance himself to win. Better yet, end it all with one swift attack. Not too much, not too little. Just enough, probably a little more. Perhaps he needed to use that level after all. The veins pulsing from his arms settled, and his once golden hair dropped back to normal. He needed to regain even the slightest decimal of stamina and go straight into that transformation. "You're abilities are definitely worth commending," he applauded, aura disappearing quickly.

#21 was surprised to see this figure devolve from his form. To think he could activate that power at will. "Splendid." That raspy compliment sounded freakishly frightening to the cyborg, despite the compliment. In all honesty, #21's been nervous since the start of this whole thing. Now, on the other hand, this guy wasn't too scary, since he was almost down for the count. Still, it was no excuse to not be at least a little worried.

Again, she was never good with assuming things. She was better off theorizing rather than judging possibilities, like a true scientist. The redhead kept her guard up. Anything could happen.

And, lo and behold, something was indefinitely bound to transpire.

Her opponent was wrapped in that sunlit energy again. His eyes and hair changed back to their previous colors, but his hair stayed down. Black was grunting and snarling as he charged up, heart rate increasing drastically. The electricity from before also flared back to life. For the third time, winds and rocks were tossed around by the might of his magnetizing power. Black yelled with all his might when his Ki-levels seemingly hit the climax. His arms with balled up fists and legs spread like an eagle's wings.

This is it!

...

The demigod opened his eyes. He glared at his enemy. However, #21 simply looked back at him with a face of confusion. Suddenly, the half-Saiyan himself was confused. _Why is the_ _woman not afraid_ , he questioned. He found his answer very quickly. Black's attention drew to his lifted hands. He didn't feel any different compared to his earlier battle power. He began to groan when another headache slammed him out of nowhere. "For what reason is... everything queerish," Black muttered through the stress.

He put a hand to his forehead to grip the strain's source. What he felt in his hair was astonishing... in an unfortunate fashion. Black's hair had stayed the same, his eyes were still midnight (though, they seemed more dry and tame), and his overall strength was nearly depleted. A flow of amazement startled him, anger and disappointment climbed to the max when he realized it. He knew what this meant.

This **was** it. This was his limit. He couldn't raise his power any higher than the inhibiting bar that was set by these god forsaken limiters! He didn't change out of Super Saiyan Two manually. It was natural; automatically deactivated! Just where on this worthless field did the source lay? Uuuuuuugh, there were only more moronic and answerless queries sticking to the man in dark's brain like bandages!

Black's fury was at its peak within a nanosecond. He was desperately trying hard not to reveal it, though. Showing impatience means showing weakness, and weaknesses lead to self-destruction.

Unfortunately, with all of this pent up aggression, the demigod was unable to control himself.

It was just one miserable failure after another. Every plan he had ever since he met those accursed Saiyans has gone down the drain like a dish from a one-star restaurant. The mere thought of losing to a mortal who was undeservingly powerful, no matter the circumstances, was a thought that drove him insane, even at nighttime. What he originally imagined before regarding the most embarrassing and pride shattering thing he was ever forced to experience: Scratch that. Screw that.

How dare they...

How DARE they!

The front of his jaw was fully revealed and a third's worth of his veins started pulsating like never before. So what if this force was distorting his Ki? So what if he was running low on said Ki? His sword was drawn once again, this time in a menacingly violet shade and it was relatively bigger due to the boost Black recieved through his boiling temper. All that was running through his head a that very moment was the defeat and death of this man-made monster. Why couldn't things be easy like they used to anymore? How could these humans carry this much knowledge and power on such short notice?

In his fit of rage, he bustled for the cyborg, who had dropped her defenses for the split second when she witnessed his failure at ascension, screaming with all the power he had left. "NOW YOU WILL KNOW THE HORROR, YOU VICIOUS, FLAWED, SOULLESS DEVIANT OF MANKIND!!! YOU DIE TODAY, ONE WAY OR ANOTHER!!" His voice was at its highest volume, echoing across the planet.

* * *

Even the spectators on the other side of the world could hear his malice. The two Kais unconsciously trembled. They were downright scared speechless. The Saiyans in blue and orange, on the other hand, simply stared at the flickering yellow light in the distance. "You know, Kakarot," the prince spoke aggressively after a minute of silence between them. "I'm having second thoughts about what you said earlier." The uneasiness in his upset tone threw his rival off for a second.

"I had no idea Black could be so aggressive like this," the passive Saiyan replied. He was just as shocked as his best buddy. To think his doppelgänger could make such leaps and bounds through power to the point where he could face that lady alone. Not only that, he was able to bring out the highest level of Super Saiyan Two without much help. Man, he was growing less fond of that Zenkai trait all Saiyans had. "Sorry, Vegeta. I thought for a moment he'd be easy pickings in this state."

"Who knows? Black might be after this fight. #21 isn't just another android."

"He'd better, or else I'm gonna kill you for this."

Goku only chortled that brain cell killing horse-noise of a laugh as he scratched the back of his head with his right hand.

* * *

This was Goku Black's fury; _Zamasu's_ fury. His undying zealousness, his hatred for this overpowered twat. A twat who was somehow beating him at his own game. Every last ounce of steam he carried was delivered to the flying left jab he prepared in order to cripple his opponent beyond repair, if not skewer her. #21 conjured up another barrier that surrounded her to neutralize his attack.

Blade first, the demigod smashed through the barrier, shattering a hole into it. However, the hit wouldn't touch the woman projecting said barrier. Its taser-like properties sent dozens of jolts from his hand to the entirety of his complex. Through the open wounds and bruises, it all entered his veins and tortured him inside out. The pain was unbearable, which became clear to the redhead when she heard him yell and flinch in agony before his attack landed.

He miscalculated again. He let his rage mess him up. Black tried to pull his arm away, but he was unable to stop his body from shaking. He couldn't do anything. Not until #21 dropped her shields, that is. He noticed how her left arm was held back. Wait, what the--?!

Something white hot and extremely sharp skewered his chest, forcing him to cough up copious amounts of blood. The wound was deep. By sheer luck, it wasn't puncturing anything vital. Still, there was no denying it hurt like hell, and it didn't take long for the object to remove itself. More red liquid spattered across the burning plains. The half-Saiyan began to fall over. His expression was covered with bewilderment.

In that single, short period of time in which gravity did its work, Black could see a flash of bright pink plasma in the right corner of his eyes.

"Kamehame..."

_Oh Kami, no._

"HA!!"

Without so much as a second to spare, #21 fired her charged up attack straight into her opponent's gut. "Rrrrrgh! Shiiiiiiiiit!" The blast grew larger as it traveled, pushing Black at least twelve miles away. There was no way to escape what came next, not with his whole body spread out by the pressure of the shot. The attack slammed him against a steep hillside. A marvelous explosion of valentines colors burst sky-high, and an extraordinary mushroom cloud of dyed smoke and dirt was formed. Trees and earth were incinerated by its fiery power.

Somewhere in the pile of rocks, sat the reciever of the Kamehameha. He had almost no power left. The innards of his chest felt crushed; Like his rib cage was shattered. For all he knew, it probably was. Black tried to stand up. It was extreme enough to move at all. The hybrid succeeded in getting out of the rubble and on the burning hot terrain, but couldn't balance correctly. His body dropped flat on the ground, limp as a released feather.

His head was turned to the right when he landed. He lay on his stomach next to the cyborg who was still standing a few feet away. The only thing he could see while his vision was growing darker and darker once again, were the mismatching red-blue high heels in front of him.

Hold on. Black barely had the strength to turn his body or even his head, but he could see something else. It was a crimson light. Same aura as before. It was shaped like a... No... Impossible! There was no way she had that technique as well!

Her left hand was glazed with deep red energy, it's flow almost exactly like Black's own sword, only smoother; created from a persona of calm, spiteless mentality, despite its demonic color. Style-stealing fool!

He soon heard a voice. The last thing he needed. It was muffled. The demigod could hardly hear anything straight.

"I must say, you were definitely strong." Her compliment became backhanded. "But, not strong enough."

"The reason I was 'standing directly in your path' is because it leads you to a battle, driven by what sounds like a grudge, against the same people who helped me undo the crimes I've committed."

She raised her hand-blade, ready to put this wounded creature out of his misery.

"If you dream of taking it, I must warn you, Snooty: It's a long 'path' to walk on. A long path that starts wi--"

That was all his ears could make out before every one of his senses shut down. Now, Black was unconscious. Knocked out cold with his eyes shut.

Goku Black... No, Zamasu...

Lost to a mortal for the second time.

His heart had sank into a pit of nothingness as all things went blank. Even with the odds stacked against him, there was no way this should have happened. Perhaps he's gotten rusty since he was knocked out. 

Damn. Why did all of that feel so familiar? Oh. Huh...

The cyborg gazed at his fainted body. "Heh. You know, it wouldn't be so bad if you let me finish," she giggled in response to the half-Saiyan's slumber. Slightly dismayed that she couldn't kill him with his eyes open, she crouched down to the demigod's level, and pressed her right index finger against Black's throat. A pulse. He was still alive, so that stab wasn't fatal.

Such a strong fighter he is. Way stronger than those clones. This individual has earned her respect. Sure, this guy was overconfident at times, but his pride and skills as a warrior were worth many praises. However, what #21 said earlier was true. This man was leagues beneath the ranks of the Saiyans he was after. So, why? Why chase them down when he was too weak to even defeat her?

Little did the redhead know why she was the victor. "Hmm," she grunted. These new theories and ideas weren't making it much easier to sort everything out. Using the CPU in her brain, she calculated the best option for her to take.

All signs and recommendations told her to...

She sighed. She had come to her conclusion. This was the best decision to choose in order to find her own answers. 

_I... guess it wouldn't hurt to interview him in my lab. I shall take the necessary precautions to prevent him from acting irrationally. Maybe I could even examine him. I wonder where he came from._

#21 heard a rumble in her stomach. "R-Right, threatening stomach problems," she growled. The redhead withdrew her sword. Gripping her stomach with one hand, she perked up her glasses with the other. How they weren't damaged aside from getting soaked was beyond her.

As one of her companions taught her some time ago, 'Food for thought always comes first'.

"Now, where did my coat go? Pffft! There it is."

* * *

The small audience on the other side of the planet shuttered. They've lost track of someone. Vegeta, concerned whether this was good news or bad news, spoke to his orange wearing rival. "Kakarot. Did you feel that?" The other Saiyan was conversing with Shin about the Potara earrings and wasn't paying that much attention. Still, it was easy to understand what his buddy was asking when he heard him. "Yeah," Goku nodded. "That huge explosion. And Black's energy. It's... gone! #21 really won!" He felt so giddy about this, he just had to fist the air, yelling, "Yahoo!" loudly and proudly. The Kais were doing they're own hippie dance, whooping and cheering in delight.

The prince wasn't as enthusiastic about this as the circus trio around him. Android #21 was the one who emerged victorious. After the most recent incident that required every Z-Fighter's coordination and cooperation, he lacked confidence that it was safe to celebrate.

Vegeta flew up instantly with that agitated frown. His rival saw what he was doing. "Hey," he exclaimed. "Vegeta, what're you up to?" The prince had no time to reason. He had to get to the bottom of this while he could. Ignoring Kakarot, he zoomed off into the distance towards the scene, leaving the Saiyan in orange behind.

"Ah, come on, 'Geets! Get back here!" Goku quickly went after his buddy. The two Saiyans cruised across the sky to the other side of the Kais' sacred ground, with Vegeta moving eagerly faster than his rival.

Sadly, the pair of martial artists would only be welcomed by nothing more than molten rumble, dust, and a plethora of gaping craters filled with flaming ash.

To their utter disappointment, Goku Black and Android #21 had vanished. Nowhere in these dynamic ruins could they be seen.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Phew. Now that this introductory mini-arc is done, it's time to move on to the real stuff! I assure you, the potential shall not be wasted! (However, it's gonna take a while to theorize what'll happen next. But, I can assure you guys it won't be too long this time.)  
> This is not he end. Not by a long shot.
> 
> See you all next chapter!


	6. Rumble

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Been a long ass while since the last chapter, I know. Things happened, and whenever I actually had the chance to work, I just got humiliatingly lazy and pushed it aside. Nothing you'd consider special, but that doesn't matter much, eh?
> 
> As the great CJ would say:  
> "Aw shit, here we go again." (Love that meme to death jsyk 👌)

Hundreds of bright, magenta themed flares and dark smoke plumed up to the violet skies in an endless dance of danger. As these clouds of blazing heat swayed from side to side, vexation mushroomed to the stars from within the prince's white-hot blooded body. The Saiyan wearing his blue training suit grumbled and growled ceaseless swears under his heated breath, teeth grinding together with each and every single mutter. This was his one chance. He had one FUCKING opportunity to seal the deal.

It could've been his moment to shine, just like his son did when _he_ took a stand. Why? Why wouldn't this stubborn son of a bitch just die and scream in Hell where he belonged? No, Kakarot's plagiarizing counterfeit deserves far worse. That broken mirror's head was swollen enough. Whenever he may get the chance to make up for his failures, he wouldn't dare hesitate to smash said head back down to fetus proportions.

After so many attempts to prove him wrong, that the vessel of a Saiyan can only grow with patience and ambitions, and failing, his rage was a ticking time bomb with only a few seconds to spare. He also could've trashed that scrap heap for thinking she could nerf the almighty Prince Vegeta and get away with it. How come she wasn't vaporized by that clown's ball-nuke? Oh wait, that's because it has a bad track record. _That's_ why, goddamnit. Idiots! 

Kakarot sprightly noticed this rising smolder, as it wasn't that hard to miss the energy his anger gave off. Exactly two seconds slipped by after he began paying attention.

The very instant those two seconds passed, Vegeta freed his boiling bile. A long, ear piercing **"FFUUUUUUUCCCKKK!!!"** filled to the brim with self-hatred and resentment threw the atmosphere for a loop. His screams could be heard worldwide like Black's, except Vegeta's were much more intimidating. The prince's vengeful bellows were so strong, the sound waves produced blew the flames away like leftover feathers. Even the black clouds emanating from them vanished. He fell to his knees, crunching the crusty earth with his shaking, balled up hands. 

Goku could feel his whole skeleton shutter from that one as he covered his ears. That scream was probably his loudest and most anguished one yet. _Poor guy,_ he imagined. _He hasn't been this upset since Gohan tricked him back on Namek._ It earnestly saddened the Saiyan to see such frustration. Thankfully, that shout was only one Vegeta needed to release, as he slowed down his breathing to the point he could speak. Not that his furious attitude dissipated with the fire. "H-Hey," the Saiyan in orange stuttered. Vegeta's head twitched to the left like the gears in a clock.

Sure, he was a bomb, and bombs could be used only once, but this one could burst as much as he pleased. "What. The shit. Do you _want_ , Kakarot?!" The prince's raspy, unsettling voice cracked halfway through his retort. Goku flinched. He knew that 'Geets was livid with him... for some unknown reason. "U-Uh... Umm..." The Saiyan was lost in his thoughts. He, too, was dissatisfied with the turn of events.

He would unfortunately be cut off by his rival's temper before he could answer. Vegeta swiftly raised his left arm and shoved his index finger into the orange wearer's face. His head was tilted away and his eyes were closed. "Wait, don't tell me," Then, he faced the defensive horse-laugher again as he continued. "You want to apologize for not thinking ahead like you always do, huh?!" The prince wished he wouldn't have to look at this dumbass so often. _'Hey, it's me, GOKU! Wanna see me waste every ounce of energy I just got? Okay, here. Lemme just meld it into a ball of sunshine shit that only worked once in my entire life!'_

...That's what Vegeta was thinking, mind you. He wanted to mock him, glorify and emphasize the large parade of fuck-ups Kakarot lead on this meaningless journey so that he understood it without a question to spare. However, Goku wasn't gonna have this behavior. He rested his own fists on his hips and responded, "Hey, I'll have you know that, if you were to even try flying here or convince me to use Instant Transmission, we'd both be laying down flat in a split second!" He went on on, trying to make his buddy understand. "Trust me, Vegeta, I wanted us to go as soon as we could. But I couldn't let the same stupid thing happen twice. Not without..." Goku stopped himself to think. He remembered something about their powers being reignited by...

"The souls!" Goku's mind may not work as comprehensively as his friends, but he definitely couldn't forget what helped them trudge forward in their ordeals. Those spirits were somewhat like friends to him as well. Gears began to turn in his meat fueled brain. Vegeta's angry face didn't change much to the sound of that. "What're you saying," he asked with that look again. The Saiyan in orange elaborated on his theory. Interest steadily worked up to the prince's brain. "You know how #21 managed to create and plant those three souls inside us when everything went wrong?" Vegeta nodded responsively. "And don't you remember when the last one that left us when all was said and done?"

The Saiyan in blue perked up a little, the expression still too stubborn to call it quits. "Yeah," he replied firmly. "What about it?" His face morphed into a more intrigued look as Kakarot percepted his observations with a small smirk.

"Those other two who linked up with us and Frieza and Cell never shared as deep of a connection as that one did with the Androids. From what I'm seeing, I don't think it truly left at all. Something tells me that, while everyone was clueless about her survival, that soul knew she was still alive and fixed her up somehow the second we all left. Granted, this is just me taking a shot in the dark."

"Now, I don't have any idea whatsoever that would explain how in the Omniverse Black dodged Zeno, but we'll think about that later."

Vegeta scratched his chin in wonder, feeling a few tiny, prickly hairs. Damn, he had to keep up his shave game. "Well," the prince sighed. He was much more rational than the three minutes prior, mainly because he was more surprised that Kakarot would think like that. Yes, it was a wild guess, as expected from this looney, but it was also a sensible wild guess. Better than nothing. "We might as well share this with the others. If what you're saying is the truth, then we might only be seeing a corner of the big picture right now." Kakarot agreed with a smile, which influenced Vegeta to be more stern. "And Lord Beerus, especially. He's obviously gonna be in a bad mood when he hears this, so watch your tongue without looking challenged, Kakarot."

"A'ight, Vegeta."

The prince set his rightie firmly on Goku's left shoulder, who put two fingers to his forehead. In an instant (pun intended) the pair of Saiyans zipped away; Off to warn the others.

* * *

A certain feminine cyborg floated among the clouds, descending a little with each mile she crossed. There wasn't much excitement needed for the present weather; not with that soothing sun blissfully blueing the grasslands and seas, and the angelic breeze flapping her messy hair, clothes, and coat around. 

Android #21 had the limp body of her defeated opponent hung over her shoulders like a trooper evacuating a wounded comrade. She had her right arm around his torso, and her left grabbing his feet together. Darn, for someone who carried such a robust will, he sure was lightweight.

This specimen was unconscious from the get-go, so it wasn't even difficult to position him. Better still, the journey hasn't disturbed his slumber, making the redhead's easy job almost effortless. As #21 made her way through the relaxed air, the cyborg's scanners scouted her destination. A notification appeared in the bottom right corner of her integrated screen, which read, _(Determined Coordinates: En Route)._

_(ETA: 38.4 Seconds)._

"Good," she told herself potently. "Almost there."

Eventually, the wind gathered some speed. When she was 16.2 seconds away, a groan of emptiness from her digestive system sent the scientist into a small panic. _No, not now, please...!_ #21 braced herself. As she predicted, her stomach started performing silent but deadly backflips again, forcing her right arm to let go and focus on that stupid ache's source. Her hunger died down when she was halfway here. Scrap's sake, it came back like a boomerang, except the boomerang had some personality and was actually a sadist in disguise.

Why was she cursed with this dismal quirk to begin with? Oh, dear Metallica, how she wished that her original creator was alive so he could tell her. As if it were a Christmas present, a small landmass of yellow was visible in the distance. "At... last," she struggled to exhale. "S-Subject Transfer is a... success. Ngh!"

Far away from civilization, north of the neighboring Paprika and Break Wastelands, was a series of brick red canyons and cliffs known as 'The Gizard Wasteland'. Believe it or not, this area was used as the battlegrounds for a conflict between two brawlers which would unintentionally shape a consistency of teamwork between them whenever world-risking threats would be realized. Wind would always howl through these rock faces of quietness, breaking the brief silences every time. Some dust clouds picked up occasionally, but they weren't nearly as tedious as the minority of its touring visitors would think. Though, they managed to assist in covering an already fairly hidden secret that not a single normal person on planet Earth knew about... Emphasis on "normal".

A new message was displayed in the bottom right again, saying, _(Determined Coordinates: Arrived)_

Deep in these bluffs was a standardly scaled precipice with, at first glance, absolutely nothing that made it stand out. Just a basic big ol' rock surrounded by more basic big ol' rocks. But, was it really? That idea would soon be put to the test.

The redhead landed lightly in front of this central crag. She carefully set her patient's body on the ground before walking forward to observe the seemingly orthodox outcrop. After a few seconds of searching, she located a small scratch on the southeast part of the mountain. Gnawing carnivorously at the darkly painted nail of her right hand's thumb in distress, she slowly advanced towards the odd mark. When the spot was a foot directly in front her, she reached out a quivering left hand, flattened it against the mark, and a *DING* sound was heard. A whole Pandora's Box of mechanical *CLUNK* and *KACHUNK* noises that came from above soon followed.

Pebbles crumbled down the rocky hill as a massive crack split dead center of it. The rigid cut expanded, folding oragami style into opposite sides of the hill. Next, a long ledge unfolded above the lady's head. Once the entrance was situated, a computerized voice greeted her in a cheerfully vocoded tone.

** // Welcome back, Red Ribbon Associate, Gero-1I17-21 :) \\\ **

So, yeah, not so generic after all.

She pouted, wishing it'd stop calling her by that _mouthful_ of a name. The redhead preferred not to be reminded of... Wait-- no, no, no, poor choice of thoughts!

The insatiable feeling within yelled at her like a spoiled brat. She could feel her circuits burning out one by one. #21 used every fiber, every ounce of inner steam and energy to fight back the overpowering urge to feast. Rapidly, she zoomed over to Black's body, picked him in the same position as before with one left arm, and shot up to the ledge. The cyborg had to move fast before she went stir-crazy... stir... cake... stop!

She could just do what she did best. She's had enough food on her plate at this very moment. But, she'd rather not spiral into more madness. The redhead would practically let her insanity win if she did that even once, and she'd rather be killed than let that happen a fourth freaking time. Regardless of who she combatted with physically, her greatest enemy would indisputably be herself. A need to feed is always the tougher competition.

Barely managing to make it into a lonesome, domed room without falling over, she desperately curled up her free hand's fingers, mashing a triangular button angled downward sitting on the left side of the entrance/exit coming in. As the huge door closed up again, the floor began to lower itself, dimmed lights switching on in all directions. She squatted down, releasing Black's body entirely onto the floor with a *BONK* before violently gripping her flaming stomach.

Breathing fast and hard, she growled with gritted, salivating, animalistic teeth. It always annoyed the hell out of #21 how a basic human function made her feel stiff and heavy like a bed consisted of nothing but anvils, unlike every other normal citizen who roamed Earth. Was it just her sensation, or did the enveloping temperature increase to an unbearable amount, too? Well, she and her patient were traveling underground.

It hurt so tremendously, the cyborg honestly felt like turning that Saiyan's skin into a... no, control was of the essence. Maintaining it was a must. Losing it meant losing the battle. Easing her pumping veins, #21 was able to retake the helm of her heart rate. The aching lingered continuously, but at least I tried lessened by a fraction. That fraction was all she required to stand up. She picked up the hybrid once more, this time with him hanging over her left shoulder only, as the floor shook.

Finally, she could... phew. The lady moved forward, and a pair of panels removed themselves, revealing a thin, bare hallway of neon green-lit steel. Traversing through it, and one last door on the other side, she made it back home after her endeavors. "Y... yay," she huffed.

Behind that auto-lifting door was a gargantuan space roughly the length and width of a car parking garage facility. Large vats full of liquidated lime energy stood in two separate lines of three. Each of them had bulletproof glass installed to avoid a freak accident.

Past those vats sat a short computer station with three blank screens and keyboards, each formatted and spaced precisely. A wheel with a handle sat on the far right, whereas a palm sized red button collected a thin layer of dust on the left.

On both the right and left sides, a pair of metallic staircases could be found leading downward towards a much bigger arrangement of glowing pods, all connected together by a massive electricity generator almost thirty feet tall. Luckily, the ceiling was high enough to avoid being penetrated.

Though, what made these pods different from the ones on the upper level was that they also came packaged with a breathing apparatus attached to the bottom through a meter thick clear plastic cord. A trio of robot arms wrapped in wires and cables, one with a claw, the second with a built-in automatic screwdriver, and the third had a scarily thin needle at the tip, hung from the ceiling above the assorted vats.

This entire lower level could also be observed from the station on the upper floor, thanks to no walls or glass obstructing the scenery. The guard rails at the ledge added security to the attraction, as well. #21 grunted towards the station, clearing her throat to speak. "Computer," she trembly commanded. Each screen was brought to life through a voice recognition. "Status report on 'Appeasement Supply'."

To her dismay, all three of the screens harshly showed a big fat 0.8% on the specified rations. "SLAG!" #21 angrily smashed her fist onto an unoccupied area of the desktop. _Settle down,_ her passive side cooed. _The more you squirm, the more power you give to_ her _._

No hesitation required, the lady updated her emotions. Relax. She could easy steal something out in the world. Ugh, why steal, though? Because she had no job to pay up. She refused to find one due to her fear of breaking crazy. Very few on Earth knew she had this base of operations, so rent issues can excuse themselves. However, that's besides the point. The cyborg carried on with her ideals.

"Acknowledged. Computer, initiate 'Procedure: Zero-Nine'." Once she finished, the pod farthest away was remotely drained of its fluids. Then, the claw arm shifted over and lowered itself before securely grabbing the tub's shell, lifting it up as if it were the chrome dome on a silver platter. The cyborg couldn't help but picture...

Quit. Fantasizing. FOOD!

She fiercely tapped the keys on the keyboard to form a coded command on the reactivated screens. When she was done, she smacked the [Enter] key, and more techno sounds were heard. No time to strip him to his underwear. As much as she wanted to be considerate and not have him wake up crankily to in a soaked, tarnished Gi, she didn't have enough time or strength. "Alright, Saiyan... whoo... Time for a bath." The redhead smiled shortly like a child's mother as she said that. She knew he couldn't hear her, but she just had to poke a little fun. Beats talking to machinery every day. She yearned for those youthful days of legitimate company to return.

#21 succeeded in bringing the demigod's body down the left hand stairway without tripping over via horrendous bellyache. She moved around the other tanks, targeting the opened one. The redhead leniently seated Black's body. He was hunched over a bit, but no matter. The lady crouched again, picked up the breathing apparatus sitting next to Black's left foot, and strapped it onto his jaw.

Pause. What's this? The redhead just now noticed the strange silver ring around his right index finger. She never saw this style before. Could he be married or something? Should a she leave it? It was an item that belonged to him. "No," demanded her scientific engrossment. She should take it, scan it, understand what made it tick. Correction, she _had_ to. #21 was a proud, hardworking scientist, and this was a grand opportunity for study the origin of an unidentified object. The minerals utilized to forge it must predate.

Caution was warranted, however, as she remembered back on the Supreme Kai's planet. The specimen was out cold, but, there was no telling when he'd jump up and go wild. _Please don't wake up, please don't wake up, please don't wake up,_ the lady frantically prayed. Delicately, she slid the circular jewelry off of his finger. Thankfully, the Saiyan hardly twitched. "Phew..." #21 wiped the sweat from her forehead, pocketing the artifact in her coat.

Ggh! It's wet! Oh yeah, she forgot she needed her own bath. Duh. Lamenting her clumsiness, she decided not to completely ruin the fine ring.

The claw arm lowered the encasement back to its original spot, and the tube refilled itself with the ooze it held minutes back. However, the color of said fluid wasn't the same. Instead of green, an aquamarine glow tinted the liquids inside the chamber. A bundle of holographic schematics appeared on the capsule's glass shell, each reporting separate analyses of the patient's body. As Black floated up due to his low density, the cyborg couldn't help but pay attention to the hybrid's destroyed attire.

Jeez, his clothes were absolutely shredded. There were holes over him showing off his latest gashes, cuts, and bruises. The schematics on the holography revealed to #21 that he had a rhythmic heart rate, but was also suffering from a multitude of internal injuries, most of them severe:

Penetrating trauma to his liver, chipped skull, cracked collarbone, and countless scores to half of his organs. Yikes! She really didn't mean to hurt him this badly. Oh well, the pod would fix that in... an hour, as an indication panel first to the left suggested. Seriously, what was he intending to do if he were to meet his brethren? Whatever it was, the cyborg was certain a negative interaction between them would result. She needed to obtain as much information about this person as possible. With hope, he would be willing to cooperate after his recuperation.

Okay. Now, she only had to wash herself off and then tame that lion of an appetite. Though, she whined a little as she remembered an old saying she's been told a while back. _"Assessment of appearance before consultation of cravings."_ That woman with blue hair knew her stuff, respectively, but the redhead hadn't anticipated how much beauty meant to her. It's not like it was poor advice here, on the other hand. There's no way the cyborg would let herself go anywhere in this mess of an outfit. Not even to grab a bowl of takeout.

She went back up the stairs. Pulling a cold steel handle, #21 found one of six drawers inside the computer station's structure. She dropped the ring in it and shoved the drawer back. Moving on, she headed for the eastern wall. Automated systems recognized her presence, activating a pair of sliding doors, similarly to the outside entrance's programming. 

Of course, #21's vicious hunger would return, that was to be expected. Luckily, it wasn't as draining as it was in the elevator. The sensation only made her anxiously chew an upper lip. Maybe it was aware of its approaching satisfaction. "Better do this quickly," she muttered. 

Those doors shut behind her as the redhead swiftly proceeded to disrobe herself. At the top of the doorway, an orange electric sign fired up.

{|—Decontamination Expanse—|}

{|–Service : Occupied–|}

* * *

"So you're both positive Goku Black AND Android #21 have yet to kick the bucket after all we've done?"

In a galaxy millions of lightyears away from Earth's solar system, there was an oddly shaped planet surrounded by several multicolored moons in a surprisingly well-lit outer space. The planet was sculpted like an upside down pyramid, with an immeasurably tall tree sticking out from the flat. Every square inch of this environment was shielded by an endless force field, protecting it against any type of animate or inanimate pests.

Courtesy of the God of Destruction's attendant and teacher, who stood patiently before his two latest students with a mixed look of disappointment and amusement. The relatively lengthy chap had bright toothpaste blue skin, white long hair that shot up and spiral curled at the end, freshly polished nails, and vibrant violet lipstick... why he does that, only his fish fondling friend knows.

For his apparel choices, he went almost full velvet with his large robes and skinny leggings. Almost. Some parts of cloth were fabricated in jet black, like the areas going down his chest and spine where symbols representing his role were stitched in, or his shiny 80's tap dancer shoes. Don't forget that excessive halo floating around his neck, circling the collar.

This organic figure's name was Whis, Angel of the 7th.

His students, the polar opposite Saiyans, synchro-shook their heads affirmatively in response to his attempt at confirmation. "We're not kidding, Whis," said the youthful minded Goku. They've managed reach out to their superiors through direct contact through Goku's warp. Hearing these news, Whis tsk-tsked in disapproval. "So I see..." The prince next to Kakarot was concerned with that tone. It sounded somewhat wrong. Fake even. "Might I ask why you're not spazzing out," he quizzed.

The angel chuckled, shrugging as he told half of the truth. "Trust me, Vegeta, I'm definitely taken aback from this sudden enlightenment. I merely feel less worrisome than our previous encounters. If the two of you have conquered both of their challenges once before, then the probability of a second victory seems absolute." To tell the full story, Whis and Beerus already knew about Black's unexplainable survival. They just had to act like they hadn't the slightest clue in order to flank complications. Black was none of their business anyway, whether they wanted to interfere or not. Timeline related concepts were factually off limits for Gods and mortals alike. What they really weren't aware of until this exact moment was that #21 had also lived through _her_ experience, thus, making their intrguement more believably genuine. Mortals could pick up things so slowly.

Beerus, who kicked back in a comfortable lawn chair at the trunk of the aforementioned giant tree, simply groaned and pinched between his eyes. One of these days, he'd payback those slowpokes for not finishing the job. Was this inconvenient? Yes. Was this aggravating? Obviously. The blatant aggressiveness Black had for him were very mutual. 

No one shamelessly kills a God of Destruction in the future and gets off scot free! The fact that he's still wandering around these parts maddened him. Again, the issue wasn't his problem. Controversially, it stressed him out. He didn't know what do. That prideful dog's woman held his ramen privileges hostage for the love of Zeno. The sphinx cat grumbled as the Saiyans conversed with their teacher.

All this talk about a pair of straglers who's defied death stupendously was ruining his nap, and the chattering about Black was particularly rigorous. Speaking of Zeno, If either of the parallel Lord Zenos heard a peep of this, the Universe he loved would vanish by their hands, taking its inhabitants and G.O.D. with it!

"Well, you're not wrong," Goku agreed. "But, I think we're gonna need a gigaton of training." Vegeta chimed in, requesting, "Whis, do we have permission to train here--"

"GRRAAAGH!! NO! I DON'T WANT THAT!!"

The Destroyer God was blindly shouting. All he wanted was to finally catch his millennium Z's! Ever since that bastard Kai tied everything in a knot last time, he couldn't get out of Beerus' head. Not to mention how obnoxious the explosions and AAAAAAHH-ing became overtime. The volume got cranked up to max, he couldn't sleep if he tried. Of course, this is the consequence of refusing to finish the job done himself. A whole lot of racket. The realization had just slapped him silly.

His brutishly violet aura rose from the ground up as he speed-walked towards the trio with his arms in the air like he didn't care. "What's this Universe coming to!? I can't snooze through the stress. I can't enjoy my favorite food. All because you senseless wads can't look around you to save your asses from a snail!"

Goku and Vegeta equally dreaded the sphinx cat's emotional inferno. "SO! Dende on shitting Namek, you better make a plan..." Beerus stopped himself inches from them. His focus drifting into the outer space, he said, "You know what?" Piece by piece, he just came up with a huge plan that didn't involve Lord Zeno's presence. His mind worked like a puzzle.

Namek –> Dragon Balls

Dragon Balls –> SUPER Dragon Balls

Do that, put them there... did he need that? Nah... 

The Saiyans and their teacher listened, settled and simultaneously weirded out by his anger's disappearance, which would be replaced by more passive humming. Future Zamasu used the Super Dragon Balls to grant his wish for immortality, while his alternate stole Goku's body to buff his power. Surely, he'd go for them again. So, the most logical solution would be... The sphinx cat gulped as he spoke. He was aware of what he was gonna say, but he just said it.

"Our only option, considering what Black and did to achieve their goals..."

He paused. This was crazy-- it's absolute gambling at this juncture.

"Is to destroy every set of Dragon Balls."

Whis was slightly amused as the Saiyans were utterly flabbergasted by this idea. Destroy the Dragons Balls? All of them!? Has he lost it!? What if Black achieves his goals of mortal extinction? Even with their training, Zenkais are the superior boost.

Nobody will be around to stop him. Nobody said anything. Not one word. They just stood there with amazed faces, until Whis stepped forth and dared to question. He figured it out himself, whilst his trainees still had trouble comprehending. "Lord Beerus," he started. "As much as I'd like to condone this so that Zamasu may not achieve his goals twice, might I ask why we should take such a risk." A short *hmph* was heard from Whis' pet. "Lemme rephrase that; I don't plan on getting rid of every set, okay?"

"Porunga, as far as I know, grants the most wishes, correct? A total of three. And the Super Dragon Balls can make any and every singular wish possible."

"So what you're implying, my lord..."

"He needs the Dragon Balls because he can't do much without them. He'll have to make a decision. And once he's zeroed in on one target, it'll be easy to ambush him."

"Plus, we'll need them to repair the damage that'll be done."

"That's why..." He turned to Whis' students, pointing with a sharp straight left index. "I'm leaving you guys in charge of guarding Namek's Dragon Balls." The Saiyans flinched, but they caught on immediately. "Defend those balls with your lives. And if it's absolutely necessary, you destroy them too!" The warrior pair swallowed, but concurred to his orders. Beerus's mind was made up. He went on with a smirk. "I will personally ensure that the Super set is safe and sound." His attendant had an interested expression. "May I come with, my lord," he asked. The God of Destruction only eyed him dirtily.

"I shall be his destructor, should he crawl pathetically to me."

"I made things worse, I'm undoing myself. You just take care of the other collections across the universe." His vigor was practically knocking on Heaven's door. He hasn't been this confident since he had that dream of the Super Saiyan God. Regardless, Whis backed off sighing. "As you wish..."

"NOW, GO," Beerus bellowed at the Saiyans, shaking the ground within fifty yards. With a firm resolve driven mainly by intimidation, the prince was ready to grab Kakarot's shoulder again, who put two left fingers to his forehead. Yet, he stopped.

What about Black's ring? Even though it was unambiguous that Black would head for Namek, once he discovers that the other orbs are wiped from existence, but that punk could travel through time with a deft fist in the air, undoing Whis' work. Then again, the angel could do the same, so it wasn't that big of a problem.

More importantly, what about his family? He could be gone for days. This was Namek they're heading for. His rival stopped also, turning with raised eyelids and eyebrows to see the prince's hand hovering in hesitancy. Vegeta , "Umm... Lord Beerus?" The sphinx cat's impatientce spiked anew. "What're you waiting for, 'Frieza Day'!?"

"Could we please visit our families before we do this?"

Vegeta bowed his head as he pleaded. His rival heard this request and had no issues with that. He'd get to see _his_ wife and son, too. Man, he wondered how Gohan was feeling after coming home from the last battle. Sourly, it was Beerus' decision, in the end.

Beerus pondered. They equally could use the socializing. Furthermore, they could even score some food for later. They'll need it if they wanna come home at all. Who knows when these two loonies will return? They could be gone for days. So, he groaned at the prince reassuringly, "Do whatever you need to gotta do..."

The rival warriors attained tons of excitement, but were strictly reminded of their top priority. "Don't gimme those looks! MOVE!" The Saiyans jumped and, in a heartbeat, Goku and Vegeta vanished from the Destroyer God's view. Beerus yawned with wet eyes, spinning 180°, and stepped over to his chair with his hands folded behind the back of his waist.

"Now... Operation 'Smash and Stash' is underway," he declared, snickering at his poetry. His teacher smiled. It must hurt a little to use that brilliantly big brain.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Now, I'm very pleased with the popularity and reception this work received over the months and, personally, I'm satisfied with how the plot is progressing (yes, I am very much aware the pacing is slower than what some of you want, but it'll pick up). So, who am I to stop?  
> Thank you guys so much for motivating me! You have no idea how happy the support you give makes me feel, really 🤗

**Author's Note:**

> My sincerest apologies if I ever make any inaccurate mistakes (when I say that, I mean anything absurdly stupid). Call me out if I do!


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